A Simple Thank You

Dear Friend,

Now retired, my dad once ran a small private dental practice out of a converted bungalow.

After three decades of working together, his longtime assistant took me aside and confided, "You know, at the end of each day your father would go around to each of the staff and say, 'thank you.' There was not one day of working with your dad when he didn't thank me."

I wasn't entirely surprised by this as I knew my father to be kind. A "gentle giant," people call him. 

But now when I really consider what my dad's daily practice of gratitude means, it impresses me more. It means that on the days when all the exams and fillings and root canals went well, he was thankful.

It means that on the days when the cranky patient showed up and the forgetful one did not, he was thankful.

It means that even on the days when he skipped lunch to cover an emergency, and even when patients could not pay their bills, he was still thankful.

This consistent gratitude is something I lack. You'll probably more likely hear me mumbling complaints under my breath.

One day in recent years, I was determined to be thankful. For whatever reason, I was feeling especially low, so I thought it might be helpful to make a goal for the day to express thanks at every turn. But you know that moment when you've been sad for a while and the dam breaks and you start to sob? That happened by 7am. I wanted to wallow in my pity party, but I instantly remembered my goal. So I whispered, "Thank you, God" for nothing in particular.

Just a simple thank you.

Nothing miraculous happened. But I kept taking my sadness to the feet of Jesus all day. I confess that it wasn't always with appreciation in my heart. But little by little, something else broke that day: the heaviness.

A habit of gratitude is what I want to cultivate. I want it to be my go-to tool for every situation. I want "thank you" to be in my heart and on my lips on repeat and on repeat again.

The people around me need this. I need this. And God has given me so much. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," exhorts the old refrain. All. Blessings.

The breath in our lungs.

God's breath through the trees.

My fingers dancing to write these words.

The light bouncing off these lines.

Your eyes to read them.

Your miraculous neurons to interpret them.

All blessings.

And the tangible benefits of gratitude are well documented. Dr. Robert Emmons at UC Davis tasked over one hundred participants with gratitude journaling either weekly or daily for ten weeks. He reported in an interview with SharpBrains, "We also saw a positive effect on hours of sleep and on time spent exercising, on more optimistic expectations for the coming week, and fewer reported physical symptoms, such as pain. Additionally, we observed an increase in reported connectedness to other people."

So, when my dad told each of his colleagues at the end of each day, "Thank you," he cemented a relationship with them. One of mutual respect. And connection.

I want more of a simple thank you coming out of me at every turn.

Friend, would you like to go on this gratitude journey together?

What shall we do? Keep an old fashioned "count your blessings" list? Like my dad, shall we daily express our thanks to the people in our lives? Write a letter of gratitude to someone who has had an impact on our lives? Whisper a prayer?

Come what may, I want to be thankful.

With gratitude for you,

Your Friend

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Pause. Ponder. Pray.

• Look around you right now. What do you see, hear, touch, smell, or taste that is a gift?

• Put your hands on your chest, abdomen, arms, or other part of your body. What do you notice? Give thanks for any gifts you notice.

• Think about the people in your life. For whom are you thankful? What are the specifics? Consider texting them, calling them, or talking to them in person about what you appreciate.

Thank you, Father, for the many simple and profound gifts you have given me. Help me notice the small. Give me eyes to see the large gifts, too. Help me live with gratitude in my heart and "thank you" on my lips. In Jesus' Name, Amen.