Often, the humblest among us are also the most grateful…
A friend of mine was quite sick. She had no one to take care of her. Suddenly, out of the blue, a helper who used to work for her arrived. Without any fanfare, the helper washed up my friend, cooked for her, cleaned up her house.
The helper said, “Ate. Nabalitaan ko, may sakit ka. Wala ka raw kasama. Kaya pumunta agad ako dito.” She said she was grateful for all the times my friend helped her.
Another friend helped someone get a job. In return, she receives these gifts consistently, yearly, from him, for the past 20+ years: birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, Valentine gifts, “Thank-you-for-my-job” anniversary gifts, and Get Well Soon gifts when she’s sick. Always with a note of gratitude.
The young man my friend helped is now in his 40s, married, with children — yet he hasn’t forgotten to show gratitude to my friend. Success didn’t spoil this young man!
One of my mom’s helpers who she sent to a cosmetology school eventually went to Manila to be with her family. She became successful, had her own beauty salon in Cartimar, was able to build a lovely house nearby. She‘d send gifts to my mom, visited her when she was sick, brought baskets of food for my mom and our helpers. She gave my mom a lifetime gift of expensive beauty treatments in her parlor! She never forgot that my mom sent her to school when she was 17.
A dear friend, who we helped in his business, became successful. Since then, he treated us to trips abroad, helped us build our third house fast, by using his connections. Even when he had already risen in wealth, influence, and stature, he never forgot to keep in touch. A prominent but humble man.
They say that gratitude, when shown sincerely and generously, can overflow to the next generation.
One of our friends who we also helped in his business showed unbelievable gratitude to us — and, by God’s grace, we were able to help him again when we opened the door for his son get a remarkable job in a top multinational company.
This reciprocal relationship of gratitude — that has blessed our children and theirs — continues to this day.
We have seen, time and time again, that when we remember to show our gratitude to people who have helped us, especially in the major areas of our lives, we will continue to be blessed, somehow, in ways beyond what we can think of, or imagine.
Ingratitude, however, reaps bitter, rotten fruits that poison our lives.
How much easier, wiser, and more joyful to show gratitude to those who have shown us kindness, and gone the extra mile to help us in our time of need!
In the end, we honor not only the ones who’ve helped us, but most of all — we honor God Who is the Giver of all good things!
“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)
