I was asked to prepare a brief talk about gratitude for a church meeting. Here is some of what I said:
I received a thank you card yesterday. It was from a neighbor girl who is in elementary school, thanking me for purchasing something for a school fundraiser. I certainly had not expected a thank you for helping her in such a small way, but clearly she was being taught by her parents the importance of expressing gratitude, and I appreciated it.
It was a little thing. Gratitude can be a little thing, but it can also make a big difference. With Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to share some things for which I am grateful.
I am thankful for the country in which I live. I don't always agree with every political decision that is made. The candidates I vote for are not always elected. I may not like all the ways my tax dollars are spent, but when I look at the broader picture, I feel so very fortunate. I sometimes hear about people living in other areas of the world where disease and abuse and terror are part of their daily lives. Not mine. Some people have hardly known an existence without soldiers or rebel armies in the streets. My life has never included those things. I have great freedoms and peace, including religious freedoms, for which I am very grateful.
I am thankful for my family. I don't have any relatives in town other than my husband, but even with my children in different states, I am so grateful to have them in my life. I am thankful for my parents. I had good parents. My mother died over 18 years ago - far too young, but I am grateful for the years we had together and for the influence and example she still is in my life.
I am grateful for my friends. I am not employed, so I spend many of my days at home by myself, working on various projects. Some days I have very little contact with others. But, I feel blessed because I have had friends in my life who have touched me deeply. I appreciate each one of them.
There are so many things that I am lucky to be able to take for granted. I have a warm home. I have transportation available to me. I need never go hungry. Those things could change at any time, but I am grateful that they are so common place to me that I almost forget what a blessing they are. So many people have so much less.
I am grateful for my Savior. I am especially thankful for those moments when I have been reminded that my Heavenly Father is mindful of me. God has commanded us to be grateful in all things, and that can be hard. All things. Not just the things we like. Not just the sunshine, but the rain as well, and the storms. It can be hard to feel grateful when problems arise, when situations or opportunities change or former blessings seem to disappear. That is when our attitude makes all the difference.
I recall the example of Corrie Ten Boom who writes in her book, The Hiding Place, that she learned to be grateful even for the lice in her concentration camp bed, as it caused the guards to keep their distance. In her dire condition, her efforts at finding things for which to be grateful is an inspiration. I'm not so sure I would have had the proper attitude to see the blessing in the lice.
There is a woman I knew years ago who once made a simple comment that I've thought of many times. We were talking about gratitude, and she told me how at one point in her life she had decided to make a habit of saying a brief prayer of gratitude whenever she felt she had been blessed in some way. What she discovered, in her very concerted effort to be more grateful, was that this simple exercise made her increasingly aware of how much she really had. She became more grateful as a result of expressing that gratitude to her Heavenly Father. Her blessings did not necessarily increase, but her eyes became open to them.
It reminds me a little of when I got a new Subaru some 20 years ago. Suddenly it seemed like every car on the road was a Subaru. They hadn't become any more common, but because I was suddenly focused on them, I noticed them everywhere. When we focus as intently on our blessings, we will notice them everywhere, too.
I may have much to learn about gratitude, but I do know one simple truth. Gratitude makes life happier. When we open our eyes to whatever blessings we have been given, our outlook on life improves along with our relationship with the One who is the source of all those blessings.
If I could choose, I would have family and friends closer to me. I would have my mother, who would be 89 now, still with me. There are more things I could place on a wish list, but I also realize that everything in my life does not need to unfold according to my personal plan in order for me to recognize that my Father in Heaven has been generous with His blessings. In being grateful to Him, I show my faith and trust in His plan for me, and in being obedient to His command to be grateful, I find that I am blessed even more.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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