Thank You

Suppose you got up early and made a special breakfast for someone you loved.  You went all out--pancakes with homemade maple syrup, or eggs and bacon.  Fresh-squeezed orange juice, even, perhaps.  And as you watched your loved one devour your offering of effort and love, all she said was, "I'm glad I could eat."  Or, "I was sure hungry."  Or even, "I'm grateful for this yummy breakfast."

Telling you she is grateful would be one thing.  But, now, imagine she didn't say any of those things, but turned to you and looked you right in the eyes and said, "Thank you for doing this for me."  

Wouldn't that feel a whole lot nicer than just hearing indirectly about her appreciation, even if the words were spoken right to you?

Suppose you scrimped on your own personal comfort in order to purchase a smartphone for your teenager.  Even, "Yay!  I have an iPhone!" would not be as validating of your sacrifice as if he said, "Thank you for giving me this."  

If you stepped up and took an extra turn filling the dishwasher for your partner, would you hope to hear, "I'm glad the dishes are clean"?

We don't necessarily provide gifts and service to others in order to be thanked, but being thanked directly certainly validates us better than just hearing that the person liked it, does it not?

Saying you're grateful is an expression of appreciation, but not a direct thank you. If you heard someone to whom you gave a gift say, "I'm grateful I have this," wouldn't you kind of look around to see who they were talking to, besides you?

And yet, more and more, here is what I here people say when they pray: "We're grateful for this beautiful day.  We're grateful we could meet.  We're grateful for the moisture.  We're grateful for the gospel.  We're thankful for our families."  

We aren't talking to each other, telling each other what we are grateful for, like we would as an exercise around the Thanksgiving table, are we?  If we believe when we're saying a prayer that we are talking to Heavenly Father, should we not talk to Him directly?  Praying is our chance to say whatever we would like to say to Him!  Should we just mention in passing that we like His gifts? Would it not be a lot better say, "I thank Thee" to Him directly?