Very Many Thanks: Fourth Tuesday of Advent

Once more, very many thanks to all your great goodness to me and mine: and with all best wishes for a happy Christmas.
~ C.S. Lewis, from Letter to Dr. Warfield Firor, Nov. 6, 1948, Lewis' Collected Letters, II, p889

When was the last time you wrote a note to someone thanking them for their life? Who are some of the people over the years who have made a difference in you? Even though you've thanked them in the past, maybe it'd be worth it to write another letter during this Advent season expressing your gratitude. Everyone benefits from remembering good deeds in the past, from hearing you say "Thanks!" one more time.

As you recollect the great goodness that has been part of your past - whether in abundance or scarcity - what role do you think God had in those gifts? Christians over the generations have believed that everything good comes from God. We remember those times when good came our way unexpected, undeserved, unannounced, at just the right time, in just the right way. Sometimes we start taking for granted the good gifts God give us. They start adding up, all these little gifts that make a big difference, and we forget to direct our gratitude to God and the givers he gives through.

This Christmas - whether it's full of stress and hardship, or whether it is chock full of health and wholeness - make a point to remember and write out your thankfulness. Get specific on the great goodness that has come your way from God through others. You probably need the reminders. They probably need the reminders. God would enjoy the reminders. Your church would benefit from you and them and God getting the reminders. Your friends would benefit from a more thankful you! :)

You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
You are my God, and I will exalt you.
Psalm 118v28 (NIV)