The Time is Now for Thanks!

An Everyday Stewardship Reflection for Thanksgiving Day 2016

Pope Francis said in a 2013 homily,

“If families can say these three things, they will be fine. ‘Sorry.’ ‘Excuse me.’ ‘Thank you.’ How often do we say ‘thank you’ in our families? How often do we say ‘thank you’ to those who help us, those close to us, those at our side throughout life? All too often we take everything for granted!” 1

The reason we fail to thank our loved ones is not that we are without thanks. It is that we get into routines and become numbed by the passing of time. We but into a lie that those we love will always be there for us, when that is just not how life works. A job offering may take a friend far away. Children grow up and leave the nest for opportunity. Divorce can destroy a family that once seemed inseparable. And of course, death comes for us all at some point in time.

If we take each other for granted, then we have missed the fact that God has given us as gifts to each other and that is bad stewardship. One of my favorite movies is Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and in the closing scene the main character tries to explain that she belongs to nobody, only to hear her boyfriend proclaim to her that people do belong to each other. The reality is in a family, we all belong to each other. I am yours, and you are mine. Next to life itself, those we love are by far God’s greatest gifts to us.

Tell someone you love, “Thank you.” Thank them not only for what they do, but thank them for just being there. Never take them for granted, for life has made you a promise: they will not be there forever.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

1- Catholic News Agency, Oct 13, 2013.