Give Thanks, Always
Author: Karl O. Lawrence
July 19, 2018
In choosing gratitude as the theme for this essay, I
discovered that I quite accidentally hit the proverbial “mother lode” on a
topic of significant moment for one’s spiritual and psychological health and well-being.
In mining for coal, gold, silver, oil or other minerals, the mother lode
describes a rich, important, major, or profitable source. With gratitude we
have a major, inexhaustible topic for reflection in regard to one’s spiritual
and emotional life.
Gratitude also happens to be the subject of serious academic
research, spawning scholarly papers such as: “5 Ways Science Increases Gratitude and Well-being,” “Gratitude as a Psychotherapeutic
Intervention” and “How Gratitude Just
Might Save Your Life.” Who knew?
The proximate trigger for my current interest in the topic is
my recent personal experience—a diagnosis and ongoing treatment of a
serious illness. At a time like this most people go through an emotional roller
coaster akin to the modified Kubler-Ross “7 Stages of Grief” which my wife
shared with me:
Shock (initial
paralysis at hearing the bad news); Denial (trying to avoid the inevitable); Anger (frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion); Bargaining (seeking in vain for a way out); Depression (final realization of the inevitable); Testing (seeking realistic solutions)
and Acceptance (finally finding the
way forward).
For a religious person, diagnosis of a serious illness almost
inexorably leads one to reflect on one’s priorities, beliefs and commitments.
So, I’ve been reflecting on Saint Paul’s counsel to the then
newly formed church in Thessalonica as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
“Be always joyful; pray
continually; give thanks whatever happens [or as the NRSV renders it, “give
thanks in all circumstances”]; for this
is what God in Christ wills for you” (NEB).
Being always joyful, thankful in all circumstances, and
praying continually are imperatives for the follower of Christ—no qualification as to when or in what particular
circumstances we put these Christian disciplines into practice.
I don’t know about you, but joy and gratitude don’t always
flow naturally or spontaneously from me under “normal” circumstances, much less
in stress filled times. Temperament, you see, plays a big role in how one
responds to circumstances, extreme or otherwise. So I find it encouraging that
gratitude is a virtue that I can indeed cultivate.
While preparing this essay I was reminded of something my
grandmother used to tell us; perhaps your mom or dad or grandparent told you some
version of “in every cloud there’s a silver lining” or as a couple of
psychologists put it, “Even bad experiences at least teach us something.”
A favorite Christian author of mine has this to say about
gratitude:
“Gratitude is more than
a mental exercise, more than a formula of words. We cannot be satisfied to make
a mental note of things which God has done for us and then perfunctorily thank
Him for favors received.
“To be grateful is to
recognize the love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us
everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of
existence is grace, for it brings with us immense graces from Him. Gratitude
therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening
to new wonder, and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person
knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what
makes all the difference.”
Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude, 33 (1956)
Amen!
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