Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart

After every baseball practice, Adam would do the same thing; he’d wander up to me with a shy look on his face, reach out his hand to shake mine and say, “Thanks, coach.” He’d then turn and walk off with his dad who was usually nearby insuring his son would follow through on this daily ritual. I always suspected that Adam did this because his dad asked him to. It just didn’t feel like this was Adam’s idea. But I always appreciated what this dad was teaching his son: he was teaching him to be grateful and to express his gratitude. Adam was learning that there are a bunch of things in life to be grateful for such as the health, ability, time, resources and the coaching available to him so he can enjoy baseball. But he was learning that he needs to express his gratitude. Though I know Adam struggled to muster the courage to do this, I grew to really appreciate his effort. Of all the kids I’ve coached over the years, he expressed his thankfulness more than any other.

Recently, I heard an old chorus that I grew up hearing in church. The key lyrics were, “Give thanks with a grateful heart.” This old song had become somewhat of a cliché to me but it’s truly a profound thought. True thanksgiving is first a condition and then an expression of the heart. They work beautifully together but often we don’t join the condition of our heart with the expression of our mouth. For instance, we may have the habit of saying, “Thank you,” many times a day. It’s called being polite—which is a good thing. But being polite doesn’t mean I’m grateful. This morning, the gal who toasted my bagel at Panera Bread said “thank you” when I gave her my money. Was her heart overwhelmed with thanksgiving because I actually had the funds to buy my breakfast? Was she experiencing a heartfelt moment of gratitude for me, who in some small way was helping her have money to live her life? Maybe. Maybe not. But, I doubt it. Most likely, she was just being polite; perhaps as she was trained by her parents or by her boss. Though words of gratitude can be used, it doesn’t always mean we are grateful.

There are times when we are truly grateful, but we fail to express it. This morning, I spoke with a friend who is mentoring a young man struggling in his marriage. He had been encouraging this young man to write his wife a note thanking her for the good things she does for him and his kids. He was confident that it would mean a ton to this young wife to hear some real words of appreciation. But as this man was telling me this story, my friend stopped in mid-sentence as he realized how long it had been since he had given his wife a tangible expression of his gratitude. Gratitude without expression just seems incomplete, doesn’t it?

But when we join a grateful heart with a grateful expression, we bring joy to our Father. Gratitude also unleashes other virtues in our life. I can’t be truly humble without having an appreciation of all that God has given me that I could not earn on my own. It’s tough to be content when my thoughts and words are riddled with ungrateful complaints. Everything in life works best, not when I want more, but when I have gratitude for what God has already given. Marriage works best when I love my wife because I’m grateful God has given her to me. I’m more patient, kind, and caring when my heart is filled with thanksgiving. And then there’s perseverance… I’m more apt to endure hardship well when I draw from stories of God’s provision with gratitude. Thanksgiving brings hope.

Give thanks with a grateful heart.