[You’re] Welcome

By Pastor Paul Gauche

(Heya… you can see the video version of this post here.)

Today’s Word[s]: ‘You’re welcome’ as in… a great response to ‘Thank you.’

Often at the end of conversations, people say, “Thank you for your time,” to which many respond, “Thank you.” Two people at the end of one conversation express thanks to each other, as it should be. We’re taught from an early age to express thanks. That’s why it’s remarkable, if not rare, when someone responds to “Thank you” with “You’re welcome!”

My good friend and colleague, Ethan Miller, and I were recording in the studio today. As the project progressed, I was increasingly grateful for Ethan’s patience. I had two false starts. Sorry, Ethan. Then, halfway through the main part of the recording, something happened with my contact lens, and I couldn’t see my script, so we stopped again. I’m so sorry, Ethan. We started again, and three sentences later, for reasons well beyond me, I said, “refried beans.” Honestly, I have absolutely no idea where that came from. “I’m sorry,” I said. Ethan replied, “That’s no problem. You don’t have to say you’re sorry. We’re all good.”

When we finished, I handed the microphone back to Ethan and said, “Thank you,” to which he replied, “You’re welcome!” “Wow!” I said. I thanked him again, and he replied, “You’re welcome.”

It was a powerful moment as Ethan expressed genuine grace by saying, “You’re welcome.” You probably think I’m paying too much attention to the minutia, but I believe it’s worth thinking about. When we express gratitude to someone, we pour grace into that moment. When our counterpart responds by saying “You’re welcome,” it’s like pouring grace into grace and opening up an additional space where grace continues to grow. Please understand that there is nothing wrong with responding to thanks by saying “thank you.” But when we respond with “You’re welcome,” it’s like completing the circuit and opening up a new dimension of grace for people.

This week, remember to say, “thank you.” And when someone says, “Thank you” back, perhaps you can be the one who responds, “You’re welcome.” See what happens then! That would be fun!

#100days50words

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where he blogs about a different word each week. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche) or his blog, Thriving Rhythms.