Saying Thank You

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thank you note for every languageImage by woodleywonderworks via Flickr

Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality. —William Painter

Saying ‘thank you’ is more than common courtesy – it is powerful. Two simple words convey appreciation, lift our spirits, and add meaning to life.
Each night as I settle in to sleep I pray the Prayer of Examen. I thank God for the day and ask myself two questions: What am I most thankful for today? What am I least thankful for? The answers to the first question are overwhelming and often too numerous to count.
I know several bloggers who participate in weekly posts such a Thankful Thursdays. Based on the best seller by Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, others are listing the 1000 gifts they discover in life. 
Saying thank you is more than good manners – it is a spiritual discipline to cultivate.
Watch this intriguing video about thank you:
Thomas Merton wrote, “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us — and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”

And I love this quote by G. K. Chesterton: “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, and swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in ink.”

Surrounding by all these words of thanks I wonder: who haven’t I said thank you to for a long time.
And guess who came to mind:  YOU!
So good friends, thank you for reading this blog. Thank you for signing up to get it through email, on networked blogs or on Google friends. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for being my friend even though some of us have never met in person – I do appreciate you!
Thank you!

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Comments

  1. blankMarti Pieper says

    I’m sad I have to remind myself to say “thank you” to God. But I often do. I wonder if He appreciates it the way people do?

    And yes, thank you, Jean, for giving me a fresh look at this timely topic.

  2. blankJean Wise says

    Funny to have a post about thank you and here in the comment I find myself saying thank you for your comments. I think it was Eckhart who wrote, if the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that is enough.

    Thank you!

  3. blankPhather Phil Malmstrom says

    I read a post from Pastor Steven Furtick in which he was discussing prayer. He stated that we should always start a prayer with Thank You, and then go from there… I tend to agree with that, and try to keep my conversations with God focused on that perspective.

    Great post!

    Have a Blessed Day Dear Lady!

  5. blankDesiray says

    Good post sis, so often people act like they don’t even have not only manners but respect for others, I have always said thank you to every person since I was little my parents raised us to show respect…these days people act like it’s not important at all…