Take Time to Say “Thanks”

A little boy came home from a birthday party and his mom met him at the door.

“How was it?” she asked.

He showed her all of his candy and souvenirs, and the mom said, “Wow! You hit the jackpot! Did you say 'thank you?'”

“Well,” he answered. “I was going to, but when I was leaving the girl ahead of me said 'Thank you' to the woman, and the woman told her 'Don't mention it.' So I didn't.”

Too often we fail to say “thanks.” Too often we fail to be thankful. The remarkable Helen Keller lived most of her life blind and deaf, yet she said, “I have often thought that it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time early in adult life. The darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.”

We take so much for granted, don't we?

Steve May had a professor in college who shared about a gratitude exercise that often used. The professor said, “From the time you wake up, till you leave for work, there are at least 100 things you can thank God for. When you wake up, you can thank God that you slept on a bed, with a pillow for your head and a blanket to keep you warm. You can thank God that you slept under a roof and not under the elements. You can thank God that you have electricity to light and heat your home. You can thank God that you have running water, a refrigerator that keeps things cold and a stove to cook your food. Indoor plumbing, hot showers, fresh towels, the list goes on and on.”

Be thankful in the little things. From the email file comes this reminder of thanksgiving:

“I'm thankful for

• The spouse who hogs the covers every night, because he/she is home with me.

• The teen who is watching TV instead of doing his chores, because that means he or she is home instead of getting in trouble somewhere else.

• The taxes that I pay, because that means I am employed.

• For the mess to clean after a party, because that means I have been surrounded by friends.

• For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because that means I have enough to eat.

• For my shadow that watches me work, because that means I'm out in the sunshine.

• For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because that means I'm blessed with a house.

• For all complaining I hear about the government, because that means we have freedom of speech.

• For the parking spot I find at the far end of the lot, because that means I have to walk and get some exercise.

• For my higher heating bill, because that means I am warm.

• For the person behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear.

• For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.

• For the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.

• For hearing the alarm that goes off in the early morning, because that means I am still alive.

• And, finally, for too much email, because that means someone is thinking of me.”