Thankfulness or gratitude... one and the same?

It's that time of year again. Our thoughts turn toward the final Thursday of November. Thanksgiving is coming, and we revisit, perhaps more than any other time of year, our list of blessings.

I was shopping at HEB the other day and, despite the dire predictions of supply shortages in everything from toys to turkeys this holiday season, the shelves were brimming with every good thing we could possibly want for a spectacular feast. We are a blessed nation... a blessed people... still, always.

Those exploding shelves serve as a kind of catalyst to move me toward a proper attitude of gratitude. I start the deep dive into recalling and voicing out loud to God my thanks for all the good and gracious things He does in my life each and every day. Things I don't always remember to give thanks for because they are awash in the "everyday." Things that are continually there at the ready, taken for granted because they always... are.

On my morning walk a couple of days ago it hit me. Are thankfulness and gratitude the same thing? It was a glorious day, cool and crisp. A soft breeze was encouraging the bravest oak leaves to let loose their tethers and fly. They fell like gentle rain. It was really quite beautiful. I shot up a "thank you" to God for the incredible day. That's when I realized that I shouldn't simply thank Him for the day, but for more, so much more. I should thank Him for preserving my health, that at the age of sixty-one I can still enjoy a long and vigorous walk any time I want. Saying "thank you" was appropriate, acknowledging the gift and the Giver, but gratefulness seemed to go further.

When we were homeschooling we learned about the difference between the denotative and connotative meaning of words.Whereas the denotative meaning is the literal meaning of a word, the connotative meaning evokes a feeling. For me, at least, though the two terms - thankfulness and gratitude are synonyms, they differ a great deal in their delivery. I can say a verbal "thank you" or write a note and be done. Gift received and thanks expressed. Done and done. I might not even be all that sincere in my thanks. Gratitude seems to mean something else altogether.

Gratitude is an ongoing process. It begins within a thankful heart, but it goes well beyond by a sense of appreciation expressed in "doing" rather than just "saying." Thankfulness acknowledges the gift of the day. Gratefulness acknowledges not only the gift and the Giver, but also seeks to do more... to show thankfulness through action, both to God, and to others.

I am always thankful to get to spend time with my kids and grandchildren. I am grateful that God in His mercy allowed me to experience motherhood and through His gift of children to also become Big Mama to three precious little boys.

I am thankful that I have been blessed with the means to purchase food from the grocery store and to pay my utility bills and taxes. I am grateful that God in His mercy preserves my life, my health, and my well-being.

I am truly thankful for my church, for the gifts given each time we celebrate the Lord's Supper. I am grateful that God in His mercy called me out of darkness, saved me through the washing of Baptism, and made me His own dear child.

Thankfulness seems only to go so far down the road. Gratitude continues.

Several years ago, around this same time of year, I wrote a Facebook post about the ten lepers that Jesus healed. As soon as they saw their health had been restored, they all ran quickly to show themselves to the priest. They couldn't wait to be declared "clean" and return to the welcoming arms of their families. They were all thankful, but it was a self-centered thanks for nine. Only one showed true gratitude. Only one returned to express that feeling, and though the Bible doesn't tell us, I imagine that tenth leper continued to live a grateful life, because, whereas thanks begin the transformation, only gratitude truly changes someone.

I want to be that tenth leper. I have been healed. Made whole. Reborn. Every Thanksgiving has transformative power to begin that journey of thankfulness anew. I pray, this year and always, that gratitude sees it through.