Thankful Beyond Words

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I love November. My social media news feed is buzzing with proudly bearded men (celebrating NO-shave November) and countless pictures of trophy quality Bambi’s conquered during deer season. But it’s also littered with all sorts of gratitude, moms and dads and teenagers that are taking the time to be so fully present in their lives that they recognize the mac and cheese, baby snuggles, coffee shops and favorite pairs of shoes: luxuries often taken for granted when we aren’t being intentionally mindful.

Gratitude journals, positive affirmations, Facebook updates…all sorts of studies have confirmed that this kind of awareness is important. However, I think it is equally appropriate to find ways to thank the people who play a role, big or small, in making these mercies a part of our daily narrative. Whether it’s our husbands, our kids, or the person that takes our daily order at the Starbucks drive through window, our lives are enriched by the breathing, living, smiling, crying people in them, and it’s time to remember our manners.

We raise our kids to say please and thank you, but what if we taught them how to live it. How can you say “Thank You” out loud, in your everyday life, in a way that matters?

  1. Consider areas of your life that you really enjoy. Maybe it’s your Sunday School or small group, or your toddler’s gymnastics class, or the local restaurant that your family patrons every Saturday morning. Now stop and consider who is there, maybe working silently behind the scenes, to ensure that all of this can happen. Perhaps you can write that person’s boss a note commending their work, or leave a balloon on the door of the janitor’s closet at your child’s school. Find a way to appreciate the people who might feel the most underappreciated.
  2. Compliment the parents of children when you’re out and about in public. “Wow! Your kids behaved so well.…great job, Mom!” said to a family at a restaurant or, “You’re a rock star. You got this!” to a mom who is surviving an all out temper tantrum in the grocery store, goes a long way. You know how unnerving parenting can be, and how proud you are when someone recognizes your that your hard work is reflected in your well-behaved children.
  3. Write your husband a love note. Old school. Notebook paper. Folded as if you you’re worried the teacher will catch you. Let him know that you notice the contribution that he is making to your family and that you appreciate it. Tell him that he still makes you laugh or that you still get giddy when he walks into a room. Tell him that he’s more than the guy that takes the trash to the curb, but that you appreciate that too. Better yet, write his parents a note too, and thank them for raising the man who you’re choosing to do life with.
  4. Reach out to someone from your past and let them know the impact they had on you in that particular season, . Maybe it was a high school English teacher or your grandmother’s best friend that always fed you m&m’s at church. When we hear from people in our past, it lets us know that we haven’t been forgotten, and that we mattered.
  5. Let your kids help in making Thank You cards. Explain to them that Thanksgiving is a season of gratitude and ask who they would like to say thank you to. Stamp their handprints on cards, or let them take pictures of things they think the recipient will like. Or spend a whole day hand-delivering cups of coffee or bottles of coke to people who would just love to get a hug from your child.

Turning our gratitude inside out will not only impact our lives, but it will model to our children the importance of giving thanks in a real, tangible way. It puts hands and feet on our quiet little manners and allows them to gallop about the world loudly in a way that matters.
Gratitude

What ways do you work to foster a spirit of thanksgiving in your children?

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Jody
Jody hid in the hills of Missouri until her husband, Caleb, rescued her and made her a Mrs . . . at least that’s the story he tells. A mere four years in and they’ve added a brilliant, big-hearted boy, Jude(2010) and an equally endearing, Oliver(2013) to their family. Still pretty amazed at the fact that she grew too tiny humans when she can’t even keep a rubber tree plant alive, Jody recently stopped traveling with a ministry conference team to stay at home and rough and tumble around with her boys. She loves Jesus, coffee, and big sunglasses, and keeps her inner gypsy alive by traveling whenever she gets the chance.

2 COMMENTS

  1. So many times at home (especially with my hubby) I am not always the best at saying my “please” and “thank you’s”. We are definitely working on that. It all starts at home, as you have said. With my kids out and about, I try to impress upon them (especially my son) to hold the doors open for people or help an older person at the grocery store. My kiddos are probably a little too young to really start having talks about showing appreciation but I think they can definitely learn through observing.

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