In less than two weeks, the people of the United States will celebrate Thanksgiving. While I’ve always loved this holiday for its good food, fancy table settings, and family camaraderie, I admit that a small part of me has always thought of it the same way as World Kindness Day, or National Day of Prayer.
Why only once a year? The person who has a heart of gratitude only once a year must live a sorry existence the other 364 days. Why do we need a special day to remind us to be thankful? Shouldn’t we be doing that regularly?
Then my dad asked me a question that made me pause:
What if everything you forgot to thank God for suddenly disappeared?
If that happened, I’d be sitting on the floor, naked, right now.
I know I’ve thanked God for my house and the furnace that heats it, but I’m pretty sure I never verbally expressed gratitude over the clothes I’m wearing or the chair I’m sitting on.
I don’t remember saying thank you for my computer, or the pens and notebooks I use to keep track of my myriad ideas. Or the pad of sticky notes on my desk, or my calculator, or my stapler…
What about the curtains that keep the sun from roasting me out when it passes my window? I made those curtains, but did I thank God for the financial means to purchase the supplies or the ability to sew?
And I pray for my parents and sister every night, but did I ever thank God for them?
As you can imagine, this question prompted quite a conversation that eventually crossed the line of absurdity as we joked about what little would be left in our lives simply because we hadn’t actually said thanks for it.
But is saying thank you all you have to do to give thanks?
You don’t have to have all the answers.
but, hey, why not?
Bring me your questions about faith, life, God, the Bible… and I’ll help you find the answers.
In This Article
More Than Just Words
Thanksgiving should be a regular part of every Christian’s prayers. Not a single good thing in our lives originated from someplace other than God. From our families to our homes, to the food on our tables, to our devices and talents, and everything in between. He has allowed the blessing of material things to fall upon this country to the point where even poor people struggle with obesity and those who want to pass on their gently used toys to needy kids have a hard time finding kids who need anything at all.
It is only right that we should offer up our verbal thanks to God.
But, practically speaking, it isn’t possible to speak a specific word of thanksgiving for every item we use or own. Imagine coming out of Wal-Mart with a shopping cart full of newly purchased items.
“Thank you, Lord, for my new deodorant and underwear and shaving cream and cotton balls and cake mix and shower curtain and Q-tips and picture frame and French press and tampons and nail polish and earbuds and cell phone case and…”
At this point, we’ve forgotten about being thankful and are simply trying not to miss anything. And we haven’t even touched on the intangible things, the blessings you can’t see or hold in your hand.
So what’s missing? A heart of gratitude.
Thanksgiving Comes From Deep Within
I like to think of Thanksgiving as a state of mind, rather than a long list in a prayer or an annual holiday filled with food. A person living under bleak circumstances can feel truly blessed, while a person with a comfortable life might struggle to name even one good thing.
The difference is in the heart.
What does a thankful heart look like? I like to look at Psalm 103. This chapter in the Bible is such a beautiful example of a thankful heart that it’s hard to not crack an internal smile if you really read the words.
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5, NIV
The person who can sing this is someone who is so full of gratitude that he can’t even begin to list all the things he is thankful for. He simply feels it bubbling up from within his soul like a spring bursting forth from deep within the earth. It can’t be contained, it has to come out!
When was the last time you felt this thankful? Was it last Thanksgiving? Three Thanksgivings ago?
Never?
A Heart Of Gratitude Takes Practice
Life is hard, and there’s always something to worry about. Win one battle and another arrives right on its heels. Our minds are quick to tune in to what is wrong with our lives and the world around us, and not so easily captured by the subtle blessings that swamp our everyday lives.
But the mind can be trained.
Take some time, right now, to make a quick list of things you are grateful for that you’ve never considered before. Some people keep a gratitude journal as a way of training themselves to see the blessings instead of the battles.
Personally, I have a sheet of lined paper, tucked into the very bottom of a stack of papers on a clipboard I carry, where I list random things that bring me joy. As I go about my daily business, some blessing will strike a chord with me and I will flip to the bottom of the stack and jot it down. Things like the luxuriousness of homemade cookies or snow sparkling like crystals in the sunlight. (Yes, some of mine are very poetic).
Find a daily exercise that helps you spot the blessings in your life, and don’t wait until the turkey is carved on Thanksgiving Day and Uncle Joe asks everyone at the table to list one thing he or she is grateful for.
You glorify your Maker by making a grateful heart a normal part of your everyday life.
When You Need a Little Help
If you struggle with fear, anxiety, depression, or self-hate, where a heart of gratitude seems impossible, you are a prime candidate for something called misbelief therapy. Hop on over to my post Change Your Thought Patterns: The Dangerous Rut to see what even you can do to shape your heart into a heart of gratitude.
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (vs. 11-12)
Don’t worry about filling your prayers with long lists of things you should be thankful for. Instead, let God fill your heart with gratitude the way he has filled your life with blessings, and you will be singing right along with King David:
“Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.” (vs. 20-22)
And bring on the turkey and pumpkin pie, because that’s worth celebrating for!
Follow this link to read all of Psalm 103.
Dear Lauren, I really enjoyed this article. Thanking and praising God and being grateful should come naturally but I have found that it can be a stretch to include it in the difficult times. Recently I faced a few tough days and during one of the tougher moments I heard God tell me, “my grace is sufficient for you”, not his actual voice of course, but the thought came clearly to my mind. In the aftermath I did remember to Thank him for the opportunity to trust him and to set a good example for others. I am not telling you this to say how proud I am of myself or how pious… no, I tell you because here I am a nearly 70 years old and I am still learning and growing in my faith. That was probably the first time in my life that a can remember thanking him for the “trouble”. Yes, I have thanked him in times of trouble, but not necessarily for the trouble. So, I thank you for your ministry and putting yourself out there so that old birds like me can still learn and grow. You are doing good things ministering to the young but have no doubt that you are reaching many of all ages. God bless your efforts and God bless you and your family. We still miss you.
Thank you for sharing, Becky! Especially for reminding us of the fact that we are never done growing in our faith 🙂
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