“Have you seen a person who’s sincerely grateful to someone, at the same time feeling anger and disappointment in their heart?” Metropolitan Epifaniy asked on his Facebook page.
This is hardly possible. And if it did happen, that gratitude was obviously insincere. After all, to be grateful means to be happy, to feel love. Gratitude is a light that warms the soul and has such a mighty power that it simply cannot stay inside. It ignites the eyes with kindness, pours out in a hot tear of gratitude, gives a sincere smile, encourages a strong embrace, sometimes even takes away words, but the radiance of emotional warmth of gratitude always tells more than any phrase.
Today is World Thank You Day. The holiday remains unofficial and perhaps because of this, some might consider it non-important. But it really is important to reflect on how this seemingly ordinary word – thank you – can change someone’s life, our attitude to it, and fill it with meaning, goodness, and light.
Waking up in the morning every day, teach yourself to start a new day not by planning everyday routine, not by recalling what you didn’t finish yesterday, not by choosing the outfit you will wear or the food you will cook. Start the day with gratitude. Thank God for a new day, for every breath, for every heartbeat – yours and your neighbor’s, for all the people whom the Lord sends into your life. Say thank you for everything you have in front of your eyes and around you, for everything that lies ahead and for what has happened in the past. Starting each day with gratitude, you will change your own attitude to life, begin to notice the good, and most importantly – appreciate it.
No wonder the most important Sacrament of the Church of Christ is the Sacrament bequeathed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, which is called the Eucharist (“thanksgiving” in Greek). In the Sacrament of the Eucharist (or Communion) people become partakers of God, and without sincere gratitude and love, it would be impossible.
The power of gratitude is very great. So be generous in gratitude, show it through kind words, thoughts, prayer, and charity. As the Holy Apostle Paul teaches: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
