On Gratitude

Hebrews 12: 28-29 – “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.'”

Every year, my mother gives my children Easter baskets, but to call these gifts merely “baskets” is a gross understatement.  They are gift bags overflowing with books and puzzles, set inside baskets overflowing with candy, residing within larger gift bags holding socks and other mom-appreciated items, inside…. You get the picture.  My mother loves to give gifts like these.  She shops year-round and uses the slightest Hallmarkian excuse to give: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Work Professionals Day, etc.  Every year, she says, “I’m giving the kids their baskets, but you’re an adult now, so don’t expect anything.”  But every year she packs me and my husband her version of a “small something” to go along with the kids’ baskets.  This year, our bag included jelly beans, candy corn, novelty socks, a Clone Wars DVD, fruit snacks, a note pad, earrings, and assorted chocolates.  Random, yes, but to explain my mother’s gifts in detail would require a white board, three packs of dry erase markers, and two semesters.

What is significant about her gifts aren’t the contents (although, as I’ve pointed out, they generate some fun stories), nor is it how frequently or selflessly she gives.  What’s important is that, even though she tells me that I’m an adult and no longer deserve presents, I still expect them.  I’m  not saying that I’d resent her in the slightest if she didn’t give me one, but my relationship with my mother includes a familiarity with her habits.  I’ve become accustomed to her gift-giving, and, this year, for the first time in many years, I remembered to be thankful to my mother.

“Gasp!  You haven’t said ‘thank you’ for years?  What kind of a daughter are you?”  No, I’ve said thank you, and I’ve even meant it, but I haven’t shown her gratitude in a long time. 

The Oxford English Dictionary defines gratitude as “[t]he quality or condition of being grateful; a warm sense of appreciation of kindness received, involving a feeling of goodwill towards the benefactor and a desire to do something in return; [or]gratefulness.”  Note that being thankful or grateful includes not just a sense of appreciation – I’ve always appreciated my mother’s gifts – but a desire to demonstrate that appreciation in a concrete way. 

My sudden awareness of my ungrateful behavior towards my mother over the years transfered into a desire to repay her.  I simply don’t have the funding or creativity to give her gifts in the same way that she gives to me, but I’m now finding other ways to illustrate my appreciation.  I bring my children to visit, do her dishes, call and chat when she needs to talk, etc.  These are all things that I used to do before, but now I do them with a much fuller heart and a desire to give back – to give love.

It doesn’t take much to transfer this lesson I’ve learned about gratitude to a much higher Gift-Giver.  The Bible is filled with verses that remind me of how much the Lord has blessed me.  John 3:16 and James 1:17 are both beautiful examples (in fact, my son James was born at 1:17 in the afternoon, so the latter is the verse we dedicated to him after birth).  Hebrews 12 gives a clear picture of the things waiting for us.  So, how do we demonstrate gratitude to a God who has given us something we can never repay?  Hebews 12:29 tells us to “worship God acceptably with reverance and awe.”  Exactly what constitutes acceptable worship is something to discuss on another day, but we cannot forget that just “saying thank you” to God during prayer is not a sufficient demonstration of gratitude.  Yes, thank yous are important and should not be neglected, but a grateful heart will show up in every aspect of our lives.  Say thank you, mean it, and then ACT.  Demonstrate the fear of the Lord in your words and in your treatment of others, for our “God is a consuming fire.”