Practice

             Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:6-7)

As I read this verse this morning, we’re back to that frustrating bit. We’re not supposed to just have gratitude or to give thanks. We’re not supposed to say grace before meals. All of that is too little. We’re supposed to overflow with gratitude. Overflowing is what happens when you leave the tap or spigot on. It’s what happens when there’s too much of something. Overflowing leaves a mess to clean up. Neighbors complain about garbage overflowing on your property, or music overflowing too loudly into their homes from yours. People notice overflowing.

I’m from a family that tends to want to not overflow. That doesn’t mean we’re stingy or useless. Among us have been fire-fighters and EMTs, soldiers, litter collectors, dog fosterers, food pantry workers, and more. Even when it comes to showing gratitude, we’re likely to say “Thank you” when appropriate. It’s not that we don’t contribute or show gratitude. It’s that we want to be invisible. Being invisible doesn’t work well when you’re overflowing.

I encountered something like this when I was in Toastmasters. There’s a lesson on gestures. It points out that the gestures we can see when we’re talking within a small group can’t be seen or understood across the room. We need to learn to read the audience, to know whether small gestures are enough, or big gestures are needed. To use either in the wrong situation interferes with the message you want to convey because just as people in a big audience may not see little gestures, so people in a small audience may see the big gestures as comical.

But in addition to knowing when to use which, it’s necessary to learn how to use the one that doesn’t come naturally to us. Most of the time, this is the big gesture. We must practice enough that we move from one to the other easily.

The same is true of expressions or gestures of thanksgiving. There are times when quiet, one-to-one communication is best, and times when a public display of appreciation is appropriate. We need to learn to make those gestures naturally and appropriately. As a single, I have gotten into the bad habit of not saying grace before or after eating. Such would be good practice. So would asking God’s blessing on our errands and shopping trips, and thanking Him when we’re done. What other times could we incorporate a moment of thanksgiving? Before cooking? After cleaning up? When we wake in the morning? Before we fall asleep? All of these would help make the practice come more naturally to us. Why not make it your goal to start a good habit between now and Christmas?