FROM THE PULPIT: Becoming a people of gratitude
Meister Eckhart wrote, "If the only prayer you ever say is 'thank you,' that will suffice." How many times a day do we have occasion to utter that prayer?
When you see another sunrise? When the mechanic finds the nail in your tire? When you know that your children and spouse are in relatively good health? When your sciatica eases up a bit?
The occasions are countless.
How many times a day do you have occasion to say "thank you" to the people in your life?
When someone holds the door? When the waiter takes your order? When your children say I love you? When someone lets you in line?
Every time we are the recipient of graciousness, every time we receive the sweet milk of human kindness, that is an opportunity to say "thank you."
"Thank you" people, grateful people, tend to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. People who express their appreciation and gratitude tend to see the possibilities rather than the pitfalls.
They are not Mary Poppins or Pollyanna; they have just grown accustomed to being thankful for all the blessings they have seen and received. Their gratitude shapes their view of living.
How about those days when the bottom falls out? Those days when Murphy's Law seems to rule, ("Everything that can go wrong, does"). Do I substitute cursing for thanking? No, I try to trust that the God who rules the sunshine also has command of the rain and storms.
I give thanks in spite of the negative experience, trusting that, "by turning everything to their good, God cooperates with all those who love him" (Romans 8:28).
When we greet life with mostly snarls and growls, we do not attract other people. People who accentuate their gripes and complaints do not draw a crowd, except that misery loves company -- and that is not a company you would want to join. If taken to the extreme, that could be a description of hell on earth. And we tend to take on the attitude of those with whom we associate.
Saying and praying "thank you" makes for a healthier mind, body and spirit. I don't know the anatomical mechanism of how it works, but being a thankful and grateful person appears to release more of the good chemicals in us. Having an attitude of gratitude lifts our spirits to the one from whom all blessings flow.
Stay down in the dumps if you wish, but praying and saying "thank you" can do wonders for us.
We have just celebrated Thanksgiving Day, mandated as a national day of thanks by President Abraham Lincoln. On Thanksgiving, as a nation, we pause to give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy: family, freedom, faith and subsistence.
After the national holiday has passed, every day becomes an opportunity to give thanks and to say "thank you."
To be people of gratitude makes an enormous difference in us and in those around us.
The Rev. Fred Nijem is pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Warner Robins.
This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 5:40 PM.