Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord. . . . —Psalm 18:49
My wife Ruby and I purchased our home in June 1965. After the closing, Mrs. Berry, the former owner, said, "I feel so bad. I'm afraid your furnace won't last the winter." But it did.
"Our home is so warm, we can grow tomatoes in January," I teased Ruby.
The end came on Tuesday, January 10, 1989, when water surrounded our furnace. The repairman came, watched the water trickle down and said, "You need a new boiler. It'll cost five thousand and twenty-five dollars."
"Can't the old one be patched?" I pleaded.
He shook his head. "Besides, you have a lot of asbestos that's got to be removed. It'll be three weeks before you can get an appointment, and that's another one thousand five hundred and twenty-five dollars cash!"
I gulped. It was below zero, and Ruby was ill. I could see our home freezing and our pipes bursting.
Unexpectedly, I managed to get an appointment to remove the asbestos the next day. By that afternoon, the job was completed, and we received a clean-air certificate. Early the next morning the new furnace arrived, and by early evening it was up and purring. Our home never cooled down.
The following morning I called the furnace company to express my delight. I asked where I could send a thank-you note. There was a long silence. Then my call was transferred from department to department. Finally, I was told, "Mr. Greene, we don't know where you can send that letter. All we receive are complaints. Why don't you try our president?" I did, and he was elated.
For some reason, we're more likely to let people know when we think we've been poorly served than to show our appreciation for a job well done. Writing a letter takes time, but it's worth making the effort to say thank you.
Heavenly Father, remind me to show my appreciation today to someone who's helped me.
—Oscar Greene