Thank You Notes

My daughter has been writing her graduation gift thank you notes for weeks now. Not surprisingly, she doesn’t seem as excited about this as she does about opening the cards that have been arriving in the mail almost daily.

Please don’t think she’s not grateful…on the contrary, she’s always glad to receive gifts (especially cold, hard cash). It’s one of her “love languages.” But maintaining good manners can seem tedious when you’re young with an active social life and the whole summer waiting for you to finish writing thank you notes.

Saying thanks by putting pen to paper isn’t as prevalent as it used to be, I’m afraid. Still, I have always required my children to write thank you notes. (Disclaimer: If you are reading this now and you’ve ever not received a thank you note from Ben or Hannah, I sincerely apologize. For all of my insistence, I eased up on the enforcement when they got older, relying instead on good old-fashioned guilt to get the job done.)

“Why do we have to write thank you notes?” they asked, and you may be asking, too. Here's my short list:

1. It’s the least you can do if someone’s given you a gift.
2. Because Miss Manners and I say so.

But there’s another reason for what my kids think is a necessary evil and what I call necessary etiquette, and it’s this: We need to be thankful.

It’s just that simple. I’ve heard it aptly described as having an “attitude of gratitude.” To my way of thinking, it’s being aware of God’s gifts and work in your life, every minute of every day, 24/7. It’s not easy and it takes practice. That’s why we need to write/say/sing it to the people around us and the God who made us whenever we have the chance.

As I was driving to work the other day, I was singing this song with Point of Grace:

You Are Good

When the sun starts to rise and I open my eyes, you are good, so good
In the heat of the day with each stone that I lay, you are so good
With every breath I take in, I’ll tell you I’m grateful again
When the moon rises high before each kiss goodnight, you are good

When the road starts to turn, around each bend I’ve learned you are good, so good
And when somebody’s hand holds me up, helps me stand you are so good
With every breath I take in, I’ll tell you I’m grateful again
Cause it’s more than enough just to know I am loved and you are good

So how can I thank you? What can I bring?
What can a poor man lay at the feet of the king?
So I’ll sing you a love song, it’s all that I have
To tell you I’m grateful for holding my life in your hands

When it’s dark and it’s cold, and I can’t feel my soul you are still good
When the world has gone gray and the rain’s here to stay you are still good
With every breath I take in, I’ll tell you I’m grateful again
And the storm may swell, even then it is well, and you are good

So how can I thank you? What can I bring?
What can a poor man lay at the feet of the king?
So I’ll sing you a love song, it’s all that I have
To tell you I’m grateful for holding my life in your hands

You are holding my life in your hands

I have a lot to be thankful for. So when I wake up each morning – rain or shine – I try to bring Psalm 118:24 to mind and heart before I ever open my eyes: This is the day the LORD has made: I will rejoice and be glad in it! And when I close my eyes at night, I try to offer up at least five things in my life that I was thankful for that day. Today I’m grateful for Jesus, my children, my health, my job, and low humidity.

What's on your "Top Five" list?