At first glance that statement looks redundant.  But, maybe not.  Am I just saying thank you, or truly giving thanks?  

Perhaps you, like me, had a mother who continually repeated “Say thank you.”  Hopefully you were not as reluctant as I was to do that.  Thank you for passing the spinach, thank you for giving me pillow cases for my birthday.  All kinds of times to say “thank you” even though I had no sense of gratitude.  I guess I was an ungrateful kid, but my comprehension of thank you was just a required part of good manners, and one to which I was not naturally inclined.

Then I was introduced to the verse, “Give thanks with a grateful heart.”  Mmmh, this added a complication to my understanding of “say thank you.”  Hopefully I’ve grown up a bit since those days, but I still need to be reminded of the “grateful heart” bit. 

To me, “saying thank you” can be a bit like “saying” the Lord’s Prayer or “reciting” the Creed.  All can be meaningless when we’re just repeating well-worn words.  For me these words need to come from a heart of gratitude.  They flow humbly when we’re conscious that the gift is ever so much greater than what we deserve.   Then we can give thanks with a grateful heart.

Judy