He was waiting for me when I got back from lunch.  A grateful patient with a big bouquet of flowers and a big thank you.

It’s not often someone comes back to say thank you.  But this young man did, and it made my day.  Might have even brought some tears to my eyes but I didn’t want to embarrass him.  It was such a relief to see him standing upright.  Two days earlier he wasn’t looking so good.  To put it simply, he could have died.  A sudden life-threatening allergic reaction could have ended very badly.

But it didn’t.  We were grateful for God’s protection.  And this college student was grateful that we were there for him.

It’s been a week since Easter.  And I’ve been thinking about how Easter Sunday gives us a day to celebrate and be grateful for the Cross.  But then comes Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday and the days turn into weeks and months.  And I wonder if we all too easily forget to go back and say “Thank You” again when the lilies are gone and the Easter hymns get put to the bottom of the song pile.

We need to be grateful.  Every day.  Grateful that because of the Cross, death is swallowed up in victory and things will not end badly for us.  We have life and we have it more abundantly.

This week a young man with a bouquet of flowers and a smile on his face reminded me that sometimes, we just need to go back again and say – Thank You.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  Psalm 100:4

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Psalm 103:2

I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  John 10:10 

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.  Hebrews 13:15