Thanks!

Today, we are looking at the second of three prayers in Anne Lamott’s Help Thanks Wow; Thanks! Thanks is obviously the prayer of gratitude that we have, when things go well for us, when we are spared from something bad happening, or even when we just take a moment to realize the beauty and blessings that surround us every day. There are the tiny of prayers of thanks, “Thank you that I made it through that green light and got to work on time,” and then there are the much larger, “Thank you that the doctor called back, and it’s not cancer.” Really, though, in essence, these are the same prayers. They both come from a place of gratitude for gifts given, for mercies extended, for grace being poured out upon us.

It is beginning with the habit of gratitude that we discover more and more things each day for which to be thankful. Lamott reminds us that when we “genuinely see something blessed in the mess, you say thank you. You say, “Thank you” that in the revelation, whether its ordinary or difficult, you … found a way to the balm of gratitude.” As we let gratitude overtake us, it will not remove our problems, but it will allow us to live in a freedom of joy. And gratitude really can serve as a healing balm, right? When we are thankful for all of our blessings, and God opens our eyes to all we have, it can make some of the problems that are also present not seem so overwhelming. Gratitude doesn’t make the bad things disappear, but it can kind of block our view of them, so that the bad is not the only thing that we can see.

It is also from this place of gratitude that service originates. “God’s idea of a good time is to see us picking up litter. God must love to see us serving food at Glide Memorial Church…” or checking-in on that hard-to-love family member. Hosea 6:6 reminds us that God wants us, “to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” God wants our service, and for us to love one another, more than he wants our words alone. He is much more interested in our showing gratitude with actions of love toward others, rather than just speaking words or giving other offerings.

We have so much for which to be thankful. If we can find those things, and start and end our days (and spend some of the in between) with small prayers of gratitude, not only will it help us to be better children of God, it will also help us to be better to those around us!
 

Discussion Question:

-          What are you MOST grateful for today?