One of the presenters at the Hungry for Hope conference shared a brilliant story:
Now when you read that last sentence you have to imagine it being said loudly, with wide hand gestures, and a Greek accent.
Don said he was so startled by this greeting that he thought the man might have some mental deficits.
But then the next customer came in, and the same thing took place:
“Welcome, you beautiful woman. Thank you for coming. So glad you are here!”
The woman, turned to see if anyone was behind her, and then muttered, “Oh, no, I’m not beautiful…”
“Oh yes you are. I can not help it! You are beautiful. Thank you for being here. It is my deepest pleasure!”
Don loved to return to the Kinko’s just to watch the reactions of customers entering the store. Customers startled to be greeted with such joy.
In fact, Don said, “One day I was feeling really crummy and he thought to himself, ‘I wanna go make copies.’”
The point of his story was that everyone is hungering for grace, love, and significance. Our clients come to us with “grace deficits” – often they didn’t get the love and nurturance they needed to develop in a healthy way. These are the clients who bloom when someone sees past their thorns.
I learned this lesson long ago. I was in the “seven year slump” of marriage. I was having a hard time finding the best traits in my spouse. About that time, I watched a Gary Smalley video and he spoke about the importance of honoring our loved ones. So, on a whim, I told the kids that when daddy got home we were going to say, “Haaah! It’s Dad!” and give him the utmost reverence, albeit in a silly way.
The results of this exercise astounded me. Not only did I start seeing my husband’s good qualities, but also he started acting happier as he came through the door each night. The effect was exponential. Try this out on your friends and family and see what happens. Let me know!