Maybe it’s the writer in me, but I find myself thinking about individual words and their meanings quite often. Yeah, I’m OK if that officially makes me weird.
For the past few weeks I have been thinking about the word “Thanksgiving.” Most of all, I have considered why this holiday is called “Thanksgiving” and not “Thanks-saying.” I mean, if I’m being totally honest, our greatest attempts at expressing gratitude on Thanksgivings past have been just that: saying what we are grateful for. I even shared last year about my gratitude for growth.
Don’t get me wrong: we aren’t apathetic to the cause. In years past, we have put in an effort toward focusing on gratitude, especially since having kids.
We have created a giant “Thankful Tree” in our hallway and had the kids fill the walls with beautiful leaves each night that contain the names of specific items for which they are thankful. I kept many of those leaves from years ago and re-read them when I pull out the Fall decorations that I put up after Halloween. I love the reminders of our blessings and the things that make me and my family happy.
I lined our Thanksgiving table with craft paper one year and encouraged all our guests to fill it with things they are thankful for.
I hang signs that say “Thankful” and “Thanks;” reminders about the meaning behind this annual national holiday and an important state of mind.
But the day—the word—isn’t “Thanks-saying.” It’s Thanksgiving.
What does it mean to “give thanks”?
I have thought about this a lot over the past couple weeks. Obviously the key difference between the two words is in the word “giving.”
The free online dictionary provides four definitions for the verb form of “give”:
1-freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone); hand over to
2-cause or allow (someone or something) to have something, especially something abstract; provide or supply with
3-carry out or perform (a specified action)
4-yield as a product or result
While saying “thank you” is a fantastic start, I don’t think that it truly encompasses “giving thanks.” How do you show someone that you truly appreciate an object she gave you? You use it, or put it on display, and celebrate it often. Your heart warms each time you think of the giver of said gift and you mention your gratitude often. You may even consider giving a similar gift to someone else in the future.
There is more action involved.
This year I am thinking of ways to do more giving as an expression of my gratitude instead of simple spoken words. The following is a brainstormed list of ways I came up with.
-Give heartfelt notes of appreciation to people in your life.
-Give some favorite foods to a local food bank.
-Give a phone call to someone you haven’t talked to in a while.
-Give your time to help someone you care about.
-Give help to someone.
-Give a genuine compliment.
-Give a kind attitude even when things aren’t going your way.
-Wish the cashier at the store “Happy Thanksgiving” and give him a smile.
-Give of your talents. If you sing, share a song. If you play an instrument, play a song. If you arrange beautiful flower arrangements, give an arrangement. If you are a good at supporting and lifting others, you guessed it: do it!
-Give the last of your patience. In that moment when you feel it wearing thin, push yourself to give more.
I know that I would feel appreciated if I received any of these in my life, so I have been trying for the past few weeks to do these things for the people in my life. I doubt it has done much in the life-changing department for anyone else.
But it has definitely done a lot for me.
Instead of just thinking about how much I appreciate other people and items in my life the way I do when I list them or say them, I feel that gratitude. Deeply. And it has brought joy and peace into my life during a crazy and hectic time. I found myself smiling and feeling hopeful even when I had little reason to do so. Please don’t misinterpret this post as one of those “you’re not doing enough–do more…” posts. I think that if you stop and think for a moment, you’ll recognize that you have probably already done a few of the things on my list already. The main idea here is to simply continue to do them, just adding some intentionality so that you give yourself the opportunity to feel the benefits of what you are already doing.
Gratitude is not something we can or should limit to lip service. Gratitude is something that can warm our hearts and lift our spirits, if we will let it. Gratitude will truly transform us into more joyful creatures if we will move beyond mentions and lists and push for truly giving thanks.
And with gratitude for your support and readership, I give you two things today.
1- this challenge: choose a way to give thanks today and do it. Let that giving brighten your day. I know it will.
2- if you are planning holiday cards this year and are looking for a cute template for your family cards, I designed a few and want to share them with you! You can simply download the template and open in a photo editing program (like Photoshop) and add your family photo as the background and your customized text. Just scroll down to the form below to download them FOR FREE today!
*Special thanks to Leila Ellice for taking this photo of my greatest treasures. If you are in the greater Houston area, I can’t recommend her enough.
What a handsome/cute/beautiful family you have! Kind words and small acts of kindness mean alot to me. Thanks for the encouragement to spread the love. Happy Thanksgiving❤
Thanks, Heather! I hope you have the best Thanksgiving!