Giving Thanks

As we move into November, I'd like to talk about two little words.  They're common words, ones that you're familiar with.  If you're like me, though, you don't use them nearly as often as you should.  The words are “thank you”.

Those are words we never get tired of hearing.  I don't know anyone who gets tired of being thanked for what they do.  Even if we don't feel like we did that much, even if we feel like we don't deserve the thanks, we still like hearing those words.  When it comes to actually saying them, though, we often fall short.

So, I did a little experiment recently.  As I started my day, I thought about all the things I should be thankful for in each thing I did.

First, I woke up (thanks for another day!).  I then used the restroom, then got a drink of water (thanks for indoor plumbing!).  Then, I turned on the light (thanks for electricity) and went to my computer to check on news headlines (thanks for modern technology!).  Then I shaved and showered (more electricity!  more indoor plumbing!).  Then I got dressed (thanks for warm clothes!).  Then I made breakfast (thanks for grocery stores!  thanks for plates and cups!  thanks for microwave ovens!).  Then I watched sports highlights while I ate breakfast (thanks for cable TV and satellite dishes!).  Then I brushed my teeth (more indoor plumbing!  plus, toothbrushes and toothpaste!).  All this before I even left the house in the morning.

And of course, behind all those things I should be thankful for are lots of people.  There are lots of people involved in making sure the water and sewer working properly.  There are lots of people involved in making sure the electricity works properly.  There are lots of people involved in all the technology we use every day without even thinking about it.  There are lots of people involved in the content we receive in that technology, too.  And of course, there are lots and lots of people involved in providing the food we eat and getting it to the store.

There are others we should be thankful to, as well.  There are the people who are our relatives and our friends, the people who makes our lives better and happier just by their mere presence in our lives.  We need to be thankful for them, too.

And behind those people, of course, is God.  God who created the day.  God who created water.  God who created food.  God who created everything.  God, on whom we depend for our very existence.  The almighty, all-powerful, everlasting God.  God, to whom we don't say thank you nearly as much as we should.

So, what I'd like you to do is do what I did.  Try that same experiment.  As you go through your day, think about all the things that allow you to do whatever it is you do.  Be thankful for those things.  Actually say the words:  “thank you”.  And then, think about all the people behind those things.  Be thankful for them, too.  And then, think about all the people who make your life better and happier by their mere presence in your life, and be thankful for them.

And any chance you get, tell them, “Thank you.”  That many “thank you”s, day after day, week after week, just might change some people's lives.  And if we include God in those “thank you”s, it just might change our own life, too.