I Want to Thank You for . . .

C'mon - you know the tune.  Sing it out loud -- "givin' me the best da-ays of my li-i-ife!  And O-oh, just to be with you is givin' me the best da-ays of my life."

Today I have gratitude on my mind and heart.  The power of thank you.  Such small words.  Such easy words.  Such life-changing, relationship-building, faith-instilling, gratifying words.  When was the last time you said them?  Are there thank-yous left unsaid in your life or heart right now?  So what if it was something that happened a month ago (or two or three or four or a few years)?  Does it come to your mind - to your heart?  Does it bring a smile to your face?  Do you find yourself remembering that your life was changed or improved or influenced when so-and-so said or did such-and-such or allowed you to say or do such-and-such?  Cuz my heart has been remembering lately.  And I find myself in need of saying a lot of over-due, unspoken thank yous.  I am sure I have a few to say to you -- but if you don't hear from me for a while, don't think I have forgotten you.  I just have a VERY.LONG.LIST I am working on!

Today, though - thank you for reading my blog.  Thank you for saying to me that I matter enough to you and am a significant enough part of your life that you think reading up on my life matters.  Thank you for missing me and wondering how I am doing and coming to check up.  Whatever your reason for being here today, thank you!  Thank you for making me feel indispensable for a small moment in your very busy life and schedule.  Thank you for commenting (on here or in your heart).  Thank you for being my friend. 

Whenever I start to think about gratitude, I am reminded of some thoughts I had a few years ago while reading a familiar story in the New Testament.  The story of the ten lepers who were healed, and only one went back to say THANK YOU. Christ had told all of them to go and show themselves to the priests -- the custom in that culture was that they weren't clean until the priests declared them clean -- and when they all left Christ to go to the priests, all were being obedient to that commandment/tradition.  However, where nine of them kept going -- following the law that said the priests had to declare them clean before they would actually be considered clean -- the Samaritan, who wasn't a full believer in the law or, therefore, bound by it, recognized who had already made him clean, regardless of what the priests said.  He immediately went and glorified God, GIVING THANKS.  That made him whole instead of just clean, because his faith was in the Savior and not the priests, the law, or the false traditions.  Did the others glorify God -- did they get to the priests and tell everyone that Jesus of Nazareth had healed them, thus recognizing His power?  We don't know -- maybe, maybe not.  But the Samaritan definitely did.

There are a couple of things that really stand out to me here:
1) What it means to glorify God. In the scripture Moses 1:39, God says, "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." His glory comes from our exaltation.  So, God is glorified as we complete His purpose -- which takes in recognizing Christ as our Savior, keeping the commandments, repenting of our sins, loving and forgiving others, etc. This automatically glorifies us in the process, bringing us to a place where we can be, through the Savior, worthy of exaltation.  Ultimately - as with the ten lepers - we must love Him more than man; we must want to return to Him more than we want man's praise or traditions, or even to just coast through life enjoying the blessings He sends us.

2) If this is God's work and glory -- if our exaltation is what glorifies God -- GRATITUDE is essential.  Merely appreciating someone in your life and all they may do for you is not enough to bring you closer to them.  It's YOU expressing that appreciation that lets THEM feel your love and understand it and find comfort and joy in it and therefore feel closer to you even as you feel closer to them for the love they have shown you, the love and acts that have left your heart GRATEFUL. 

This applies to relationships with friends, co-workers, neighbors, the mailman, the garbage man, God, everyone!  Particularly with God.  Even if we do go out and glorify and praise Him and all He does for us to everyone in the world and never go back to Him - never converse with Him and work on building that relationship with Him - that relationship doesn't exist. I feel love for Him and He feels love for me, but that coming together is what creates and strengthens our relationship WITH each other. One huge point to life build that relationship with God and do what is necessary to return to our Father.  GRATITUDE shows our faith, helps us identify how He is blessing us, helps us see and feel His love in our lives, teaches us what our worth is, etc. and also builds that relationship.

Like I said, gratitude has been on my mind and heart.  I hope you feel that love between now and my more personal THANK YOU!  And I hope you find a few minutes today or this week or this month, whenever, to say a few thank yous of your own!