Giving Gratitude
By Brita Crouse
“I will offer you a
sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.”
“Thank you, Brita.” He glanced at me sideways with those cloudy
day-colored eyes, waiting for acknowledgement of his gratitude. It was
a sweet moment, but I had no idea what my brother was talking about.
“Thank you for what?” I asked.
“For the plane.” The plane. The plane I had given him the day
before. The plane I had specifically chosen for him and brought back from one
of my most recent trips.
“You’re welcome, Bud.” I was seriously impressed and caught off
guard by his thankfulness. Not that my brother is typically ungrateful, but he
had already thanked me for the gift. He had already filled his quota for
gratitude. His sweet thankfulness was not unwelcome, but it was unexpected.
And it got me thinking… How can I show more gratitude?
I recently learned an interesting concept: People, in general,
are more receptive to words of thankfulness than words of apology. For example,
instead of saying you’re sorry for running late, saying something like, “Thank you for your patience with me” will cause others to feel
more understanding toward you. This creates patience from those on the
receiving end.
Maybe it’s a side effect of being raised in the Midwest, but I
find myself apologizing all the time. I’m so sorry for running late. I’m
sorry for taking your time. Sorry for bothering you. Sorry, sorry, sorry…
What would it look like to flip those statements around? Thank
you for your willingness to wait for me. Thank you for taking time to listen to
me. Thank you for always being there for me.
I do the same thing with God. I show less gratitude because I
feel the need to apologize more. But how could my relationship with Jesus be
revolutionized if I showed more gratitude? Don’t get me wrong, I need to
apologize to God and ask for forgiveness of my sins. Daily. But there is always
more room to show gratitude, to be thankful for what He has done and what He
has provided.
I can take a lesson from my little brother’s voluntary
gratitude. His simple words of “thank you” completely made my day. Imagine how we could change
the lives of others, as well as our own, if we took more time to acknowledge
why we are thankful.
Giving gratitude is not always easy - - sometimes it requires
quite a sacrifice - - especially when it means humbling ourselves, but it is
always worth it.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Try changing your I’m sorry statements to thank you
statements. Notice any difference in the way those statements are received?
2.
How can you be showing more gratitude to God?
FURTHER READING:
Brita recently moved back to her home state of Wisconsin where
she works as an Elementary School Counselor. She and her family have attended
Oakwood for 20 years.
