The Art of Thankfulness

"I am thankful for..." 
It's that time of year for phrases like this to be popping up all over online and in conversation. 

It's ironic that we hear the phrase and the object, but too often we don't hear the reason. Let me give an example of this verbal act ----- "I am thankful for my wife," and it ends there (PERIOD).

Instead, my encouragement to you this Thanksgiving Season is to include the BECAUSE after the object. It would look like this: "I am thankful for my wife because she helps encourage me when I feel down." This manner of verbal art in practice acknowledges and informs others of the reason the person/place/thing is of significance to you, and not a mere passive token of a thing attained. This also includes not only communicating with each other in a horizontal earthly relationship about our thanks, but also in our vertical relationship with God.

The great thing about writing is that this is just the start of the discussion. What are you thankful for and what is the "BECAUSE"? I’d love to hear about what you are thankful for and why in the comments below.