Thank You!

As a child, I was taught the power of the ‘thank you’. After every holiday, I would be sat at the table to pen a note of thanks to those from whom I had received gifts.

It’s a good practice, and one I continue to do – verbally if I am seeing the person, sometimes with a pen and card, often with an email or text. An expression of gratitude is important.

As I came to Christianity as an adult, I recognised that acts of gratitude are a spiritual practice. It demonstrates and celebrates our closeness to the divine – for giving a gift is not merely a task on our to-do list; it is an expression of care and a reflection of connection.

The gifts that we acknowledge as people of faith are not limited to those that come in paper with a bow – though those are so lovely too! We speak of the gifts of time and talent as well as ‘treasure’. So many people do things for others that extend care without a financial number attached: like shovelling a neighbour’s walk or making cookies with a grandchild, reading to schoolchildren or sitting on institutional committees.
We have so much to give; and when we do share our skills and time, it is a gift to others, showing them that we value them and wish them to thrive.

Yet so often, we can forget to express thanks for those gifts.
To do that is a detriment – to ourselves, our loved ones, even the organisations we are involved in. And even when our motivation is not the psychological ‘warm fuzzy’ we get when we receive thanks for our efforts, we do appreciate the acknowledgement. To fail to do so seems to be flippant or indifferent towards the gift, it can even feel like a rejection to the giver.

It’s why I keep thank-you notes handy. It doesn’t take much to say thank you; it certainly isn’t as laborious as my child self found writing awkward note cards. But it is well worth the effort; to cheerfully give thanks for all the gifts in our lives.