Gratitude is based on memory

Memory loss and memory lapses
can wreak havoc with your plans
if the White House is the focus of your goal.
But forgetting is our nature.
Facts and figures slip away.
In the press of life much stress can take its toll.

And we’re prone to be ungrateful
when we cannot quite recall
all the things on our behalf the Lord has done.
We complain and start to worry
when our rewind function fails
and we can’t replay the victories we have won.

So perhaps what Mother told us
is the key to giving thanks.
But do you recall the words she’d often say?
“Now remember to say thank you
for the things that you’ve received.
Being grateful is a debt you have to pay.”

Gratitude is based on memory.*
So remember, to give thanks.
Mother’s wise advice we’d all do well to mind.
When reminded of our blessings,
we recall how blessed we are
and began to seek what God intends we find.

* Even St. Paul understood the correlation between memory and thanksgiving. In a letter delivered to his friends at Philippi, the apostle wrote, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3 NIV)