underdemeciated

I find that God uses the most unexpected people to teach me lessons. Lately He's been teaching me the power of small actions and words like never before, mainly the power of showing your appreciation.

I've felt awfully unappreciated lately. I'll go above and beyond for someone and they act like it's nothing. That suuuuuucks. I rank it right below "just saw a dead puppy on the side of the road" on the list of "Things that make me feel awful." Have you ever seen Bedtime Stories? Like Adam Sandler, I'm feeling "under-demeciated" these days.

Sad thing is, the people who seem to forget to show appreciation are usually those who seem to have the manners to know better. I'm that person a lot of times. A lot of times you see it in business settings or even at church. On the flip side, I've seen firsthand how those you least expect gratitude from are the most likely to give it with enthusiasm.

Take for example some friends of mine in a touring band. They've got long hair and tattoos and their crazy concert to driving ratio means little time for showers. They're not exactly the type of guys you expect any kind words from AND they've had some bad luck lately that would make most people grumpy, but they are some of the most appreciative dudes you'll ever meet. We spent some time driving them around to get some errands done, and they thanked us approximately thirty billion times. No lie. As if that wasn't enough to make my entire week, before they started their encore they dedicated it to us!

Talk about awesomeness! I was living high off that moment for quite a while after that. Seriously, I've rarely felt so special. The entire rest of the weekend I've been thinking about how I can pass on that feeling, 'cause it's worth sharing. Everyone should get to feel appreciated and worthy of notice every now and then.

One of my prayers lately is that I'll learn to show my appreciation for people as earnestly as my friends. I don't think they realize what a blessing they've been to me, and I hope I can be a fraction as awesome as they are.