The following post was written by Diana Keough, who created ShareWIK.com. Since you all know how important my self-esteem file is, I thought you’d enjoy her story. You can find the original post at ShareWIK.com.

Every year, buying Christmas presents is one of those tasks I put off. I’m not one of those people who can go shopping in a department store in July and think, “My sister would love this for…Christmas!”

I wish I were that organized.

But one year, my friend, Jeanette, gave me the perfect gift: an empty box. She gave it to me as a “thank you” gift after I spoke to a small gathering at her home. Inside she tucked a note, thanking me not only for speaking but also for the gift of our friendship.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the box. But I graciously thanked her, carried it home and placed it on the hearth in my husband’s office (it was the first place I sat when I got home that evening.)
And I left it there.

A month of so later, my husband–trying to clear his desk of all my junk that always finds its way there–placed a pile of letters in my arms. They were notes and cards sent to me by readers and listeners of my work that I’d dumped on his desk because I just didn’t know what else to do with them. It didn’t seem appropriate to file them and I certainly didn’t want to throw them away.

The day my husband dumped all these on me, had been a frustrating one. As I banged away at my computer, trying to meet an afternoon deadline, nothing seemed to flow. I had walked away from my keyboard, discouraged and tired, wondering why I was doing what I do. What difference was I making in others’ lives? Like the article I was working on, I had no focus, no purpose.

I felt like quitting.

And what the heck was I going to do with all these letters? Trying to decide, I plopped myself down on the hearth next to that hand-painted box and began rereading each note and card.

“Thank you for your article on…it touched me,” one note said. “Your article made me think,” said another. On and on I read, and each time I finished another, I would place it inside my box. Each letter encouraged me and buoyed my spirits.

The very last letter I read, someone wrote: “I know you must get discouraged, but remember what God reminds us in Galations 6:9-10–“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Wham. A spiritual spanking. I had taken my eyes off of Him. The work I do isn’t about me, it’s about Him.

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