Pastoral Reflections Rev. Dr. Mike Drake


I’ve recently started reading a book that I’ve had for a couple of years called 365 Tank Yous—Te Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life, by John Kralik. It’s an easy read, with a good message.


Kralik was a person whose personal and professional life was in turmoil. One day he was hiking in the mountains east of Los Angeles, sitting on a slab of concrete where an old hotel once stood. Te remains of the decaying structure echoed his own life, and he pondered how he could/would go on. At that moment, he remembered his grandfather’s advice from long ago—that for the kindnesses given to us in life, we should show gratitude. Kralik determined that for the next year, he would find a way to write a thank-you note a day. It would be a challenge.


Looking at the world through the lens of gratitude became a transforming experience. At first, his notes to others were in response to material gifts he had received. But in time, “things” became less important, and his thankfulness moved toward the relationships he had with people, from family members to the server at the coffee shop. Even in the chaos of his life, looking for opportunities to show gratitude helped him to discover the grace of God present in the most surprising ways.


We’re in a season of the year when we are conditioned to give thanks. But what are we thankful for? No doubt for many of us, if—like Kralik—we were to set out looking for a reason to write a thank-you note each day, we would discover surprising moments for gratitude. And in time, our thoughts too would move from thankfulness for “stuff” to thankfulness for relationships and the ways God has been with us through them in the highs and lows of life.


Implicit in all of this, of course, is the fact that to have been blessed with these experiences, someone had to reach out to us in some way. Tey had to put us before themselves. Te waitress who didn’t just drop a check at your table and run off to grab the next order, but took a moment to tell you how pleasant it was to serve you. Te nurse who dropped everything to come running when you pushed the call button at your hospital bed. Te neighbor who called just to see how you were. Te service manager who went the extra mile to explain the car repair bill because he could see the look of confusion on your face. We take all these things for granted. We shouldn’t.


Who knows what motivated the people in our lives to do these things? Yet through the eyes of faith, each one of these acts is an example of Christlike love, of turning aside from one’s preoccupation with oneself and one’s personal goals to focus on the needs of another. As thankful as we are to have experienced them, wouldn’t it be wonderful if others could experience such moments through us? Te opportunities are all around us.


“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through


him.” —Colossians 3:17


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