Pastor Devotion – An attitude of gratitude

By Rev. Deanna Woodward

Maple Leaf Parish

United Methodist Churches of Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston and Spring Valley

The late Rudyard Kipling was an author of poetry and of several classic books, including the Jungle Book. During his lifetime, his writings made him both famous and wealthy. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over $100 a word.” The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill and gave it to Kipling and said, “Here’s a $100 bill, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your $100 words.”

Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, “Thanks!”

The word “thanks” certainly is a $100 word. If you do something for someone and they don’t say thanks, you may feel hurt, used, ignored, taken for granted and wonder why you bothered. But sometimes people don’t think to give thanks to each other or to God. What gets in the way?

One thing is busyness. Our English words “thank” and “think” both come from the same root word which means “to consider.” Our schedules can be so hectic and so full that we don’t take the time to consider our blessings.

One minister friend tells the story about a parishioner who stepped into his office and commented on the noisy clock on the wall. The minister had forgotten, after seven years, that when he’d first arrived at the church himself, he’d noticed the clock too, and wondered how he would be able to concentrate in that office with all the noise. But within a short time he had gotten used to it and tuned it out. The visiting parishioner commented at this point that her brother collected clocks. When she visited him, those clocks would awaken her at all hours of the night with their incessant chiming, while her brother slept like a baby. Both agreed that it was just a matter of familiarity. It’s what you get used to.

We can begin to be so familiar with certain noises that we tune them out. We can be so familiar with certain people that we take them for granted, just because they’ve always been there when we’ve needed them. It holds true for God and our faith also. Is it necessary to lose something or someone before we learn to notice and appreciate them? If you have someone or something that plays an important part in your everyday life, don’t let ingratitude make you deaf to the sound of thanks. Taking time to pause, consider our blessings, and say “thanks” puts our lives into perspective.

Other barriers to Thanksgiving are discouragement and discontent. Have the troubles and trials of this life beaten you down? Maybe you feel trapped, or defeated or even hopeless?

Someone once said that there are several kinds of people in this world. There are those who feel they have been treated unfairly. No matter how things turn out, they tend to be bitter and resentful. They grumble at any inconvenience and complain if they have to go out of their way. They seldom express any lasting joy and happiness, because in their minds, life is unfair.

Then there are those who feel they have been treated fairly. They know that life has its ups and downs and are able to wait until things level off. They take hope in the principle that everything tends to equal out.

Finally, there are those who feel they have been treated more than fairly. They see all of life as a gift from God. They give the glory to God in all of life’s experiences. It is to these people, who live out of utter gratitude to God, that the world owes its greatest debt.

Do you think to thank God for your blessings? Do you live with an attitude of gratitude?