Don’t Forget the Dappled Things

We say, “Thank you,” without much thought when someone sends a birthday card, offers a ride, or recommends a professional contact. It’s the socially prescribed thing to do, and we don’t necessarily think any more about it. We take both the kindness and the response for granted.

It’s all too easy to take God’s gifts for granted and express perfunctory thanks in the same way, if at all. We forget that God has given us everything: our talents and gifts, all our possessions, the good people in our lives, and our very existence. God’s goodness is infinitely greater than any thanks we might express.

One way around this taking for granted is to develop a habit of gratitude. By making it a practice to be aware of and thank God for all the little things in our lives, we can come to appreciate the magnitude of God’s goodness. Here are a few examples of how to nurture such a habit.

First thing in the morning, perhaps even before getting out of bed, pray: Thank you for the gift of this day.

At breakfast (and all meals) forego the rote “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts…” and instead thank God for each of the specific gifts before you: the coffee, eggs, cereal, or green smoothie; the ability to buy and prepare these things (unavailable in many parts of the world); the toaster, microwave, or blender (unattainable luxuries to many poor people); and the good health to enjoy them. Ask God for the grace not to take these gifts for granted and to remember to feed the hungry.

Train yourself in the same mindfulness throughout the day. If you drive to work, thank God for the luxury of a car (inconceivable to many people). If you walk or take public transportation, look around you, and thank God for whatever is beautiful, useful, or pleasant. If someone makes eye contact, smile. No matter how you spend your day, whether working, studying, traveling, praying, or relaxing, there are small gifts everywhere you look—if you pay attention. Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, “Pied Beauty,” is an inspiration as it reads, “Glory be to God for dappled things.”

St. Ignatius Loyola taught that gratitude was the most important virtue and ingratitude the source of all sin. Thus, his most famous, and for many of us most difficult, prayer:

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and Thy grace, for this is sufficient for me. (Puhl trans., The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, #234)

For me, this prayer has always been aspirational. As an older adult, I’m really not ready to ask the Lord to take away my memory or understanding. But the rest of the prayer is a reminder that all is gift. I may still shudder at the idea of dementia, but I can thank God for “all I have and call my own,” as another translation puts it.

Develop the habit of thanking God constantly for all that you are and have and do and see and experience. And don’t forget the dappled things.

Photo by Bibhukalyan Acharya on Pexels.