Weekly Devotion | November 24, 2024

 

Say Thank You
We celebrated another preschool Thanksgiving program this morning. Close to 200 parents and grandparents smiled and laughed as dozens of children sang songs and prayed prayers. My favorite one was the “Thankful Song” that thanked God for the food with the kids making the animal sounds of the foods on a Thanksgiving table. We’ll do it all again tomorrow for the other half of the school. I am thankful for our Preschool! Don’t you think we need more outward and visible expressions of thanksgiving in our lives?

These days, outward expressions of thankfulness are harder to see. I have High School children, therefore the days of pilgrim outfits, turkey headdresses, and Native American costumes are gone for us. I think we still have their laminated preschool placemats and the pinecone turkey craft somewhere in a box. I’m thankful for the charming memories, but I wish we could continue these plays later in life.

Thankfulness isn’t dead, however. We just need to use our words more often as adults. We ought to say thank you more often. It’s important to say thank you rather than assume people know you’re thankful. For example, Thomas thanked me for repairing his necklace. Savannah thanked me for hauling her personal Christmas tree to her room. (Yes, she is already celebrating Christmas.) Leigh thanked me for keeping the hot tub chemicals in balance. I thanked Leigh for keeping the household in order. It felt good to hear those words. We all thank God for our many blessings at dinner, even though not everyone wants to lead the dinner blessing. I think God likes to here those words, too.

We need more outward expressions of thankfulness. So let’s resolve to say thank you more often. Psalm 107 reminds us to “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Say thank you for the little things and the big things. Let’s be thankful people in our hearts and with our lips.

Peace,
Zack@madisonfumc.com