Just say Thank You

Dear PARC Family,

How many of us have a problem with receiving? Receiving compliments that is. When someone says something nice to me I either have a tendency to brush it off or make an excuse. It might be, "They are just saying that. It isn't really true. That's nice, but they don't mean it. You just caught me in a good moment." Or even, "I got this on sale." The correct response should be, "Thank you." It really ticks my husband off when I say thank you, but roll my eyes. Why do we have such a hard time receiving when people compliment us? Why can't we say 'thank you' and then receive it into ourselves; into our spirits?

I have the opportunity to speak on many occassions, and more often than not feel like I don't do very well. As I reflect, I remember the things I didn't say, how I said 'um' or couldn't think of a particular word. I feel like I didn't do a good job in conveying my heart. So, I have been practicing. When someone tells me that I did a good job, I am practicing saying 'thank you', and then trying very hard to believe them. Why do I think this is important? Because if we can't hear and receive the good things people say about us, how will we learn to receive them from God?

He has good things to say about us and to us. Lately I have been hearing these whispers of, "You did good. Look out there. See that. You did that." He will even bring memories of things from long ago and point out and say, "Look what you did. You've been doing that all your life." But, it's a compliment and it feels weird.

God doesn't just want to point out when we mess up or make mistakes. He doesn't want to fix us. He wants to bring us to our glory. That means walking in the fullness of who He created us to be, and He created us to be amazing.Think about it. Creating a whole person is a lot of work. Why would He go to all that work if He didn't plan on us being amazing? In fact, if we don't receive the good things He says about us and to us it's pretty rude. Don't you think? We need to just say 'thank you'.

At the PARC it is part of our mission to help those who come find their value and believe in themselves again. We look for opportunities to point out the good things and to compliment them often. It's powerful and they begin to change. They begin to show glimpses of who they really are, and start the journey towards becoming all that they can be. I hope we can all start practicing saying thank you and then receiving it. Imagine what we could do if we start receiving and believing what God says about us.