It was a challenging day with all the ice and snow, Father, but thank You for Your watchcare over all the bus drivers and others driving to and from school today. Keep us in the hollow of Your hand.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
From a very early age, gratitude is one of those things that our parents drill into us. Saying “please” and “thank you” is a great foundational lesson for one and all.
But, if you really think about it, there are many different ways that “thank you” is communicated. As a bus driver, many teachers/coaches want their students to be polite and encourage them to thank us as they exit the bus. We get paid to transport them but it is also a volunteer service for them. We could say “no”. There are most definitely many heartfelt “thank yous”. But there are also, the I-have-to-say-this-because-my-teacher/coach-said-so “thank yous”, as well. They’re not mean or disrespectful – they’re just sort of shallow and for sure not genuine.
When we’re learning to be grateful as kids, we are not always good at it. I remember when I was in upper-elementary I received a gift from my grandmother (whom I loved dearly – and more so, as I got older). That was when Legos started to gain popularity and that is what I wanted but my grandmother – as many grandparents will be – had no real grasp as to what I wanted and thought toy blocks are toy blocks and bought me a Mega Blok set. I felt they were not up to snuff for my standards and was quick to express my dissatisfaction.
My ingratitude stung. I might have gotten the same result if I had slapped her across the face. I was reprimanded, and she forgave me for my insolence but it bothers me to this day how I hurt her.
We are just a couple of weeks out from Thanksgiving, when – hopefully – we will have the opportunity to gather with friends and family to celebrate the many things for which we should be thankful. Some family traditions are full of opportunities to express said gratitude but for many others, it’s just about stuffing ourselves like the turkeys before us and watching sports on TV for the rest of the afternoon. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, thanks and all that, but where are the rolls!?”
A lot of it is a mentality of gratefulness. Do we just take things for granted? Do we just expect to have clean laundry and food available whenever we are hungry? Again, some are better at being grateful than others and it is probably something that all of us could improve upon.
But here is the big question, how often do we thank the Provider and Sustainer of all of life’s many blessings? Many of us may say a quick prayer as we bow our heads before we eat…but what about our lives beyond that?
If you are reading this, you woke up today? Are you grateful?
More than likely one of the first things you did today was to shuffle to the bathroom and flip the light switch on. Were you grateful for electricity and running water?
And on and on our days go – food, friends, shelter, love – there is a never-ending list. …but do we say a heart-felt thank You to the One who has given us everything?
The psalmist wrote,
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever! Psalm 106:1 (AMP)
Let’s strive to not just be occasionally grateful and, too, may we do so with truly grateful hearts – not just because someone told us that’s what we were supposed to do.
