Each night before bed our family does a roundtable prayer of thanks, with each of us saying something we are grateful for. Every time we do this, a small wave of guilt passes over me. I know we are supposed to give thanks to God for all things, but there is something that feels privileged about thanking God for all that is good and then placing our contented heads on our pillows to rest before another blessed day.
I’ve spent a lot of time making sure my kids feel grateful. I guess what bothers me is that feeling grateful has resulted in…just feeling grateful. I would like our gratitude to result in action. As our pastor always says, we are “blessed to be a blessing.”
This November, make gratitude more about being a blessing than about passively acknowledging we are blessed.
Here’s a simple idea to make that happen! Gather your family to make a list of five things they are grateful for. Then brainstorm how to transform that gratitude into related action. You may or may not have time to accomplish it all in November, but just set a goal for however long your things will take. Here is an example from what we are doing:
We are thankful for…
1. Our home.
We can show our gratitude by…
Putting together hygiene kits for the homeless that Bryan serves each week. We’ve been planning to do this for a while, but time has slipped away. This month we are making it a priority!
2. Our food.
We can show our gratitude by…
Collecting food for a local canned food drive at Thanksgiving.
3. Our health.
We can show our gratitude by…
Making cards for someone we know who is having health problems.
4. Our clothes.
We can show our gratitude by…
Cleaning out our closets to donate clothes to Goodwill.
5. Our families.
We can show our gratitude by…
Visiting a local nursing home to spend time visiting with those who don’t have family close. (There are many lonely elderly people in nursing homes who would love to spend time with your family!)
It’s a simple project with an important teaching opportunity: gratitude is both feeling and action.
What are ways you can think of to turn gratitude to action?
