"And let us not be weary in well doing:
for in due season  we shall reap, if we faint not."
- Galatians 6:9

It kind of hurt my feelings.

Just yesterday, my mother told me of a young single  mother of three small children who was in need of some  dishes for the kitchen of her trailer house.     

Quickly, I gathered some items to give to the young  mother.  And I didn't grab up all of our odds and end  pieces either.  I gave her a nice set of beautiful dishes  adorned in a floral pattern.

She didn't even say, "Thank you."

And, then, there is my Sunday school class. I study for  hours each week preparing lessons to share with them.  I  write my own original lessons and it takes a lot of work.

With the exception of my Pastor's wife...
 
...none of them ever say, "Thank you."

What about the four separate times during the past  month that I drove the hour drive to a couple's home to  help them repair their computer?  I didn't charge them...I  just wanted to help them out.   Yep.  You guessed it...

...neither of them said, "Thank you."

As I sat here this morning, kind of discouraged at how  little people seem to appreciate the nice and thoughtful  things we do, the amount of time and hard work we put  into helping others out, I began to think aloud...

"God, why doesn't anyone care that I really make an  effort to help out?  No one notices or appreciates what I  do.  Why should I bother?  No one ever says, 'Thank you.'"

These were rhetorical questions...I wasn't really looking  for any answers.  And I certainly wasn't expecting to hear  what I heard as God whispered to my heart...

"I care, son.  I notice and appreciate all that you do.   Don't grow weary, my child.  You are ministering to others  and I am using you to draw people to my Kingdom."

And, my sweet and precious Lord went on to say  something that no one else said...

..."Thank you, son.  Thank you for being faithful to Me.   Thank you for giving of yourself for others.  I'm very proud  of you....

...Thank you."

My friend, that's where it's at.  We don't do "good  deeds" to win the applause of others.  We do them to hear  the Father say, "Well done."  We don't pour out ourselves  so that we can get a pat on the back, a heart-touching  smile and a "Thank you" from those that we help.  We do  these things to please our God and to make Him proud to  call us one of His children.

Maybe this morning you feel unappreciated.  Maybe  you teach Sunday school, clean the church, help out with  young people or volunteer at the soup kitchen...and no  one seems to notice.  Or, perhaps you do a multitude of  "good deeds" around the home, at the office or in your 
neighborhood and community...and no one seems to care.   Have you committed some "act of mercy" this week that  didn't even draw a "Thank you?"

Don't be discouraged, my friend.  Don't grow weary in  well doing.  Instead, lift your heart to Jesus and hear Him  say...

..."I notice and appreciate all that you do. Thank you,  child.  Thank you for being faithful to Me.  Thank you for  giving of yourself for others.  I'm very proud of you....

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!