Thank You!
There are so many times that the words thank you do not seem like enough. There is also nothing like a heartfelt thank you. The practice of being thankful has medicinal properties. Thankfulness inspires, motivates, rewards, and connects. That connectedness relates to well-being.
With Thankfulness
Thank you adds to our lives. An attitude of thankfulness is synonymous with: appreciation, recognition, gratitude, appreciativeness, acknowledgement, credit, merit and a host of other such terms. There are several ways thankfulness adds to our well-being. The benefits are evident physically and emotionally.
Being thankful includes showing appreciation for the things and people in your life; your life. You are thankful for how you were made, your inherent gifts and the challenges you overcome. Studies show that the more thankful among us are happier. They also show that we can improve our capacity for thankfulness.
Thankfulness in Action
Here are some ways thankfulness has been shown:
$29 million bonus earned in a partial year by stock executive
All of these expressions of thanks would probably cause any recipient to beam. However, how often do we take a moment to say “thank you” by our words or actions? When we get poor service we complain and condemn. When we get good service how readily do we compliment?
Whatever your role: mom, dad, sister, brother, teacher, chef, physician, lawyer, or Indian chief a thank you for a job well-done is appreciated. Even the most difficult tasks appear to be easier when we are encouraged by someone showing that they are grateful.
Do you get recognized for what you do by others? Do you get recognized by others for the many ways that you give of yourself? Do you sometimes feel that no one notices the contributions you make to improve the lives of others?
Think about it for a moment. What act of love or kindness did you perform yesterday that was not followed by some act that displayed appreciation? How about today, what seemed to be done in secret with no open recognition of the good you had done?
We are to be doers of the word. What we do is to be done with all of our might. I have read through and studied the Bible over decades now, and I have yet to see the passage that directs us to perform tasks to gain the accolades of others for ourselves. Please enlighten me if you are familiar with such a passage. I have instead found scriptures that talk to us about giving to others in secret so that God can reward us openly.
It is God’s will that we are thankful. First Thessalonians 5:18 reads, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (KJV) So the attitude of being thankful is to be present always.
The One or The Nine
In the book of Luke there is the record of Jesus healing 10 people stricken with the disease of leprosy. The lepers approached Him only from a distance and asked to be healed of the malady. They were instructed by Jesus to go show themselves to the priests. As they were on their way they were all healed. When one man realized that he was he healed turned back, located Jesus and thanked Him profusely.
Jesus asked the following questions, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?”
All had been healed but only one returned to give thanks. Would you have behaved as the one or the nine? Why do you thing that Jesus asked those questions? What lesson can we learn from the experience recorded for us so very long ago?
Today, do you respond like the one who returned or one of the nine? God still performs miracles for us regularly. Do we give Him thanks?
If the thank you for others matters, and the thank you given to us by others matters, most assuredly the thank you (or lack thereof) given to God is vital. God’s gift to us is more significant that anything anyone else can give to us. What is your response to that gift? Does your daily life reflect a thankful attitude toward God? What do you cause God to feel when His acts of love go unrecognized? David, a man after God’s own heart, said, “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1 KJV)
Praise and thanks are acknowledged by God, our bodies respond favorably to it, let us keep praise in our mouth all of the time, and let it begin with praise to God.
Take Inventory and Take Action!
Be thankful to God, give Him praise. Have an attitude of gratitude, continually for it is His will. Those who love Him follow His will.
Love,
Deborah
“Lighting the path to loving your neighbor as yourself.”
P.S. Thank you for reading this blog, I appreciate you! To all of you that are keeping me lifted in prayer, THANK YOU!