Daily Encouragement: Be Thankful, Be Happy, Someone Cares

We’ve all heard the cliche, “It’s one of those days.” On “one of those days” , our troubles overwhelm us, God seems so ever faraway, and the Light that we should exude wanes. But there is a solution, but it’s not intuitive. Be thankful, and be happy. Before, you brush this very obvious statement aside, let’s go a little deeper. To illustrate, let me tell you about my friend, Jake.

Jake does not like to give gifts… not at Christmas, birthdays, etc…; however, he also doesn’t ask for anything as he doesn’t like getting gifts either. He can be sort of a Grinch really. But, when someone does give him a gift, an unmistakingly genuine smile grows on his face. It’s a smile of thankfulness. But why does he smile if he doesn’t like receiving gifts?

It’s easy for me to say “just be thankful and you will be happy.” But that’s overdone, and frankly kind of shallow. One should ask themselves, “Why does being thankful, generate happiness?” I will conjecture that it is because the thankfulness extends well beyond the gift or gifts. The root of thankfulness lies in the purpose of gifting. If someone doesn’t like you, are they likely to give you a gift? Probably not. Quite the opposite, people give gifts to convey a message: a message of caring, love, appreciation, acceptance, and so on. Thankfulness is realization that what you have is an expression of someones positive connection with you.

Gift = Caring = Thankfulness = Happy    —> Pretty simple math, right?

Now, hears how it works. We don’t need to just think of something we are thankful for, but also who or what is the source of what we are thankful for. At the very basic level, it’s thankfulness for God’s provision, but it’s not just limited to that. Your thankfulness can extend to your family, your friends, your spouse, your children, your co-workers, and yes, even your boss. I’m sure that you could build a list as high as the mountains.

We should certainly be thankful for the freedom bought and paid for by our soldiers who care deeply for their countrymen.

I challenge you. Find something to say thank you for, and when you do, let it remind you of the gifter and how much they care about you. When you think of it, please feel free post it here as a comment, as others could use the encouragement.