Attitude of Gratitude

As I was praying over my food the other day, I started to wonder, "What does it mean to be thankful?" We say 'thank you' so much and for so many things, that it tends to lose its meaning.

So what does it mean to be thankful?

I think it starts with recognizing that you weren't necessarily going to get whatever is in front of you now. That plate of food, the random gift, the friendly advice - none of those were a given. The first step is not taking them for granted.

So, now that you realize you could've just as easily wound up with no food in front of you, what do you do? You say 'thank you' to whoever gave it to you. When you think about it, that's a very large 'thank you.' It wasn't just the chef or the server responsible for your food. Oh no. Next time you sit down to a meal, look at everything on your plate. A farmer somewhere grew that food and raised the livestock for your meat. Somewhere, those foods were processed and made ready for sale. A driver spent hours on the road bringing that food to your local supermarket. The stocker spent his night helping to unload everything and put it out for you, the consumer. And that's just the food! There's still the plate, the cup, the pots and pans used to cook it, the skills someone had to learn to prepare the food just right.

Realizing that so many hands and hours have gone into providing food (and that's just the example I'm using now), what do we do? Say 'thank you,' yes, but is that all? Not if we're truly thankful. If you're thankful - if you're grateful - that you've received something, then you show it. That food is a gift, and you are responsible for using the energy it gives you wisely. The food could've gone to someone else, but it didn't. It came to you.

This carries over into every facet of our existence. Nothing had to come to you. Be thankful it did!

What blessings in your life do you often overlook? How can you show your gratitude for those things? Think about it.