Thank-You Notes
January 7, 2011
Excerpt from 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10
"How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you?"
Reflection by Martin B. Copenhaver
No one is born thankful. Gratitude is something that is learned, and perhaps the best way to learn gratitude is by repeatedly expressing it. It is by offering thanks that we can come to something like thankfulness. When our children were young we would often prompt them to express gratitude ("Say 'thank you' to the nice gentleman."), not merely to teach them manners, but also so that they might learn gratitude. After all, thankfulness takes practice.
As adults we can easily fall out of the practice of gratitude. So I was intrigued by the new book by John Kralik, 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life. During a dark time in his life, Kralik resolved to write a handwritten thank-you note each day. When he had written to all of his family members, friends and co-workers, he expanded the list. Once he wrote a brief thank-you note to the barista at his local Starbucks. That one almost wasn't read because the young man behind the counter assumed it was a letter of complaint. After all, who would write a thank-you note to someone for making you a cup of coffee each morning?
Over time Kralik found that this practice was changing his life. He started viewing aspects of his life differently, not as occasions for despair or complaints, but as a source of gratitude.
So, thanks to Kralik, this year I am resolving to practice gratitude by writing more thank-you notes.
Prayer
O God, the source of every good and perfect gift, thank you, thank you, thank you.
