“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”
~ Henri Frederic Amiel
What’s next? That is a question that is often asked at this time of year. What’s next? That question is being asked by many a graduate. The grade school graduate preparing to go into high school is asking “what’s next?” in terms of preparing for another year. Will that grad take summer school so that a schedule could be more flexible for the arts during the school year? The high school graduate is also asking “what’s next?” in thinking about going off to college. What will the roommate(s) be like? How demanding will the professors be? Will they be able to hack it? The college grade asks “what’s next?” in terms of looking for a job and preparing for a future.
It is never wrong to ask “What’s next?” It helps us to focus. However, one of the things that is often left out in that question is gratitude for what was. Sometimes, in asking “what’s next?”, people do not take the time to examine how they have gotten to the place they are at presently. In failing to examine that, they fail to reflect upon the people instrumental in their lives.
A lot of people went into a graduate’s life, whether that graduate be from grade school, high school, college, or grad school. That graduate should take the time and energy to thank, properly, all those people who have helped along the way. Failing to show thanks can quickly turn into a bad habit. Without being thankful, people will tend to think that they deserve everything that comes their way or that they are owed things by others.
If we do not develop an attitude of gratitude in our lives, we will not take the time to be grateful to God for all that He has done for us as well. From the time we were conceived, we were the apple of God’s eye. God has been with us from that very first moment, through thick and thin, and will be with us always. Do we let Him know how grateful we are for all that He has done? Or, do we think that God owes us as well?
There is nothing worse than an ungrateful person. That person quickly turns into a selfish boor. There is nothing better than a grateful person. That person will always have the best for others in mind and will do everything possible to come to the aid of all.
Don’t be a selfish boor. Be a grateful soul.
FAITH ACTION: Do not be afraid to speak or to show your gratitude to others.