When I was a toddler, my mom taught me to say please and thank you. When I learned to read and write, my mom encouraged me to write thank you notes for all gifts I received. She said, “Name the gift. Tell your grandma, auntie, friend how you might use it. It’s not that auntie expects to be thanked,” she said. “But appreciation is important. You will be helping her to continue to be generous, not just with you, but with everyone.

Last week, we received a beautiful thank you card from our grandson and his wife. Allison is in her last few weeks of pregnancy. I’m sure they are a busy, anxious, and excited young couple. Friends have given them three baby showers, which means at least fifty thank you notes. Their note to us not only named the specific gift given, and how it might be used. They also included a sentence that expressed the love they had received through our gift and presence at the shower. When our lifelong family friend received a thank you note from them also, she called me to share the joy Allison and Ben’s thank you note gave her. Tears of joy filled my eyes at her words. I am so proud of these two soon to be parents.

Some traditions are precious because they build a better world. This tradition builds relationships and adds to the world’s peace. Whether for a job well done, a phone call, a gift, or more, the time and the effort it takes to say a formal thank you are well spent. Heart-felt appreciation could be a note sent by Post, an email, or a spoken word. A clearly stated thank you is a valuable gift for both giver and receiver.

Our Bible tells many stories of Jesus’ gifts of healing and expressions of appreciation by the healed. One story tells us of Jesus healing ten lepers. It ends with one of those healed returning to Jesus, his heart brimming over with joy. “He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan (an outsider, unacceptable in the society in which Jesus lived.)  Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:16-18) Even Jesus felt joy when he was thanked, and I’m sure disappointment when he was not. We need to get back into the habit of gratitude. I know and trust that saying thank you will help build a better world.