10 Call Gratitude Challenge

How are you? Really? Is the claustrophobia of your life beginning to squeeze? In the last blog, I suggested the idea of getting flowers to nurses who are on the frontlines. I should have specific information for you on tomorrow’s blog.

But today, if you’re sitting at home trapped by the coronavirus, what can you possibly do to redeem the time? As you look at the week ahead, there has to be something you can do that will bring the light of connection to someone else.

I’d like to share an idea with you that is guaranteed to help you to make a difference in someone’s life. I call it “The 10 Call Gratitude Challenge.” The idea is simple: Identify the 10 people in your life who have contributed the most to you and then to call them up and thank them.

I was on a Zoom call with some ministry leaders and this idea came to me. “Just think of all the people who have prayed for you or contributed to your life without asking for anything in return. Have you really told them how thankful you are for all they did? If not, why not do so?”

Then I thought about all the World Racers whose families and friends had helped launch them out and made their journey possible. How sweet would it be for those people to receive a call earnestly thanking each of them?

After our call ended and everybody was hanging up, I was left on the line with Andrew Shearman, one of the guys at the top of my list. I said, “Andrew, would you stay on the line? I’d like to say something to you.” 

He said, “Sure.” And then I dug deep and began tell him the reasons that I was so thankful for him.

“Thanks for investing in me and believing in me,” I said. “Thank you for being a mentor and a friend who I’ve done life with. You showed me what the kingdom of God looks like. You opened up new vistas for me. You’ve taught me and partnered with me.”

Our conversation was heartfelt. Andrew is isolated at home like I am. He needed the encouragement. And I felt great having communicated my gratitude to him.

After that, I made my list of 10 people. Actually the list kept growing as I thought about family members. Later that day, I began thinking about all the ways I was thankful for them. And then, one by one, I began to call them.

This morning, we had a family worship service and we called my mom. She’s trapped in her retirement home by herself and it’s a hard time for her. We passed the phone around and each shared what we were thankful for that my mom had given to us. She was so encouraged. I’m guessing it was the highlight of her day.

When are you ever going to have a time like now? Please consider taking the challenge. Here’s the challenge in five steps:

The Challenge

1. Ask God to show you the 10 people who have contributed most to your life. 

2. List the things that you’re grateful for about them.

3. Call them up and tell them.

4. Let us know the results here (to encourage others).

5. Then challenge someone else to do the same thing.

Accountability helps – let us know if you want to accept the challenge. Then let us know how it goes!