Do you forget to appreciate the obvious? Gratitude is something many of us take for granted in our relationships. Because we expect those close to us to care for us and take care of their responsibilities, we often forget to feel and express appreciation for the very things that we would be complaining about if they were not done.

Yet appreciation is beneficial to both people in the relationship. It causes both to stop momentarily and reflect positively on the relationship, stirring up good feelings and strengthening the bonds.

Many years ago, I told one of my daughters she should appreciate my mothering. She said, “Why? I didn’t ask to be born. You were the one who wanted a kid, so you should take care of me.” (This attitude obviously demonstrated the reason we were having the conversation.) She had a valid point; however, she was too young to understand that I still had a choice. True, she didn’t ask to be born, but there are women out there who aren’t good mothers. Just because I should be a good mother didn’t negate the fact that I was one, and having her recognize and acknowledge it would have positively impacted our relationship.

If we are honest, we might have to admit that we sometimes consciously withhold showing gratitude to the people in our lives. Have you ever stopped yourself from saying something nice? I have. We often want the other person to compliment us first. But our responsibility is to do what is right for us, regardless of what the other person does.

Gratitude is “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.” The key to expressing gratitude is to feel thankful. Thankfulness starts in our head with the way we think about the people in our life and the attitude we have toward the things that we expect them to do. When we change our thoughts from expectation to appreciation, we open ourselves up to feeling thankful and then expressing gratitude through our words and actions. We need to purpose to change our thoughts to expect less and appreciate more. Learn to appreciate the obvious.

By Karla Downing

Relationship Devotional Prayer

 
God,

Stir in my heart an attitude of gratitude toward you and the other people in my life, so I will appreciate what is done for me.

Relationship Devotional Challenge

• Express gratitude over something you expect to be done and have not been appreciative of before.
• Express gratitude to your Heavenly Father for the things he does for you that you have taken for granted.

Scripture Meditation

 
Luke 17:11-19

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him–and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (NIV)

As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he encountered ten men with leprosy. The men cried out to Jesus for healing, indicating they knew who he was and expected a cure. Jesus directed them to show themselves to the priests which was the customary procedure when one was to be pronounced cleansed from the disease. One of the men came back to Jesus and thanked him. Jesus’ response was to question why the other nine didn’t also come back to acknowledge what he had done for them. Jesus told the man that his faith had made him well. Since he was already cured of the disease, Jesus most likely was referring to the salvation of his soul. Taking the time to connect with Jesus through the expression of gratitude brought a deepening of their relationship, as it does with ours.