One of the predictable patterns my family practices is to have thankful time at dinner. This gives each of us a chance to express something we are thankful for today.
Having three small ones around the table usually means:
1. I forgot to clean and sweep the remains of yesterday’s meal off the table and floor
2. Someone has already pushed another out of their chair. Because yes, you can own a uniform dining room chair.
3. I am grumpy-tired and have already had to apologize for griping.
It seems like pausing to tell someone thank you would be off key with the tune of complaints gripes and worries.
I heard someone say “thankfulness and anxiety cannot occupy the same space”. One will have to yeild as the other moves into your mind. In the past I told God thank you for something because I
1. Didn’t want to appear ungrateful
2. Wanted to keep good things coming at me. Ha, because God’s love language is words of affirmation.
3. … I don’t know. What if I’m not sincerely thankful?
Here’s the big idea. Thankfulness when expressed to me usually helps me understand what is appreciated from my actions. And honestly, people forgot to say thank you all the time but I won’t stop doing good. It feels good to receive thanks. However, God telling us to “be thankful always” is not because he needs to know what we appreciate-it is to help us. Thankfulness will displace anxiety! Try it!
Pause now and express what you are thankful for. Imagine thankfulness as away of preventing worries. It is the being thankful that helps. Regardless of where to to whom it is directed. It benefits the giver more than the receiver.
Now that is something to be thankful for.
