Thank You Notes

The children just finished writing some thank you notes for Christmas presents. This is what my 10 year old wrote to one of his aunts and uncles: "Dear Britt and Alice, Thank you for the kite. It flys good. love, peter" (as I mentioned earlier, spelling is not our strong suit around here). Short and sweet. Or at least short.

He really did love the kite--it is a really cool giant hawk kite with a 6 foot wing span (is that too much information?)--but you would never know it from this rather half-hearted effort on the thank you note. Why, you ask, was this letter so, hmm, to-the-point? Well, my son was desperate to get out of the house and off to the golf course, but first, he had to finish his thank you notes. He was focused on marking this off his to do list and getting on to something more fun.

While we laughed at his note, I couldn't help but wonder, how often is that my attitude with the Lord? How much time do I spend thanking Him, really thanking Him, with a truly grateful heart, for who He is and all He has done for me? Especially when I have a busy day, do I completely miss the manifold blessings He has sent my way that day? Do I thank Him for the incredible joy of His gift of salvation or am I too preoccupied with all I think I have to do that day? Do I pause to rejoice in His goodness, His grace, His love, His power, His peace? Do I thank Him for giving me a voice to praise Him, eyes to read His Word, ears to hear the laughter of my loved ones, hands to accomplish all He has called me to do?

Or do I just go through the motions? Mark it off my to-do list. Pray or read His Word or worship but with a distracted, distant heart. O forgive me Lord! You are so worthy of all our thanksgiving and focus and love. You know, it's not a mere matter of time. You could give Him just a few minutes of time but with a thankful, attentive heart, and it would mean abundantly more than hours spent with a preoccupied, ungrateful heart.

I know I sound like a broken record, but we (or I) just can't be reminded often enough to rejoice in the Lord! To choose to have an attitude of gratitude for what He has chosen to give us and to withhold from us. And to express our thankfulness out loud--either verbally or in writing--whether or not we "feel" like it. I recently read about a convicting example of such thankfulness shared by Nancy Ortberg:

"I worked as a registered nurse for about ten years before my life took a different direction. One of my earliest patients was a young girl of about 14 who had been in a dirt bike accident. I met this young girl down in the physical therapy department. She was in a whirlpool bath. I had read her chart before I went down to work with her and had learned that as a result of the accident, her leg had been amputated below the knee.

I couldn't imagine what it must be like to be a 14-year-old girl with part of your leg missing. I introduced myself, and we made some small talk. Through the course of our time together, I learned that she was a follower of Christ, although she really didn't say much about that.

I was not prepared for her spirit, however, especially when she lifted her freshly amputated leg up above the bubbling water for me to see and said, "Look at how much I have left!"

She excitedly told me that since the doctors were able to amputate below the knee, it was much easier to fit a prosthesis. She wondered how long it would take to heal so that she could get started with that. I heard most of what she was saying, but I wasn't really paying much attention. My mind was fixed back on the "look how much I have left!" Her gratitude seemed really genuine. It wasn't denial or a Pollyanna mentality. She knew she was missing a good part of her leg, and she wouldn't have chosen that. But she was so very thankful for this bit of good news. Her spirit made my spirit soar that day. And I had two good legs."

I, too, was fixated on her "Look at how much I have left!" How we need thankful hearts! We who have been given so much, how can we not overflow with gratitude to the Giver of all good gifts? Today, might we choose to be thankful with all we "have left" and not with what we might have lost or want or lack. Choose to "consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." Heb.12:3

Or as Heb.13:5-6 urges us "Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you. So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'" He will never ever leave us. We will never ever be alone. And the Almighty, Omnipotent One is our helper! So we have no need to fear, for what is any problem or concern or person compared to the Incomparable Lord of the Universe? Could we ever merit such extravagant goodness? Nope. But He has poured it out upon us all the same--so be thankful! Rejoice in Him! (... and don't forget those thank you notes!) To our Helper and Sustainer and Provider and Redeemer be the glory.