To thank well, you must first receive well |
Jun 8, 2010 |
I had one of those "life lesson" moments this past week with my 5-year
old daughter that interestingly ties into Mission Increase's May
training on "thanking." It went like this...
My husband had been
away on a business trip. Typically when he comes home he has a little
surprise gift for our daughter. Well, after this particular trip he
brought home a t-shirt for her. After handing it to her, she inspected
it, then decided it was not what she wanted, and promptly turned up her
nose and walked away. Oh, and she asked if he got her anything else.
(Again, she's 5-years old so maybe this response is not too surprising!)
Needless
to say, we did NOT praise this behavior. And, after talking with her
about how to respond when someone is thoughtful enough to give you a
gift (even if it's not a princess-themed t-shirt or a fun toy), I
realized something...that we not only have to learn how to GIVE (TG Principle 9), we have to learn
how to RECEIVE. And, frankly, if we can't receive well, we'll surely
not thank well.
My question for us in the nonprofit world to
consider is this...how well do we receive gifts?
Do we turn up
our noses when a gift is not at the level we hoped or expected? Or do
we show a heart of gratitude even if the gift is $5? Do we respond with
indifference when we receive a gift that doesn't come close to
comparing to that "larger" gift we received? Do we recognize (or even care about) the
story behind each and every gift and the transformative qualities it had
for the giver?
I imagine we're all guilty of what my 5-year old
did, although maybe not so blatantly! It might instead come in the form
of sending off an impersonal receipt, or sadly it might be not sending anything at all to acknowledge the gift (I know plenty of
organizations that have a policy to NOT send a gift acknoweldgement if
it's under a certain dollar amount). It also might be that you haven't taken the time to call people who give to your organization (unless the gift is big enough of course) in order to
discover the story behind the gift, or learn how you might equip them to
get further involved.
Let me encourage you to consider how you
receive each and every gift. Are you thanking God that this person is
abounding with the grace of giving? Are you showing gratitude toward
the person for their step in faith to give? Are you taking time to get
to know the story behind the gift and then encouraging the person to
grow in their understanding and involvement in the cause? If you said
no, or are not sure of the answer to any one of these three questions,
it's time for a refresher course in how to receive well!
