Thank You for the Thank Yous

When I was little, my daddy taught us to say “thank you” and welcome. My brother and I would then try to out-do each other by being over-the-board “courteous”.
“Thank You!”
“You’re welcome.”
“Thank you for the welcome!”
“Welcome for the thank you for the welcome…”
And we’d giggle and see how long we could keep it up.

Wad. We were in kindergarten lor, how mature do u expect us to be?

But anyway, last weekend, I received some very precious thank yous. And I thank God for the Thank You’s.

Sometimes “Thanks” is precious because it makes us feel appreciated. That’s nice. But that’s not something I need, nor "deserve", coz I’m not some great sacrificial sage who suffered for years in silence out of the goodness of my heart. I have done nothing to shout or feel great about. All that I do is simply what a teacher who loves God and loves her students would do.
But these “Thanks” were even more special because they told me that these boys have really grown into men… and to put it in clichéd but true terms, they’ve become men for others.

Receiving results must be a very stressful, emotional event. All your effort put into your studies seems to be “validated” by that piece of paper. Then u gotta start planning for the next step, deal with your emotions, deal with your parents’ emotions etc…
It must have been an overwhelming day for many of them. It would have been easy to be self-absorbed.

Yet they remembered to say thanks…

So… that’s my bonus. Not that I’m appreciated, but that they’ve become more and more other-centered. That they would overcome their shyness, and make the effort to write/sms/say thanks.

你们长大了！

Teaching is more rewarding than what anyone thinks. =)