Thank You For Being Here

I was out of town for a couple of days last week at a conference. When I'm away, I always try to bring something back for Tonya and the boys. Nothing major, just a simple "I wasn't here, but I was thinking of you" small gift.

Last week, during a break in conference sessions, I went out in search of my take-back-home gifts. As I exited a store I was in and pushed the exit door handle, I noticed a sign that most all stores have, the "Thank you for shopping with us. Please come again" sign. But this time that sign struck me differently than before. As I read that "thank you", I realized that I needed to take a moment this week in the young marrieds Bible Fellowship class that Tonya and I lead and thank the couples for being there.

So this morning, before I began teaching, I shared the story of the store exit sign. And then I thanked the couples for being in class. Think about it, on a beautiful Sunday morning, they could have gone hiking, gone to another church, spent the morning in bed, gone for a run in the park, gone to another class at our church, worked around their house and yard. You get the idea. There were lots of options. Some better than others and yet they chose to spend their morning in Bible study and fellowship with us.

And that's why I wanted to tell them, "thank you for being here".