Article November 21, 1988 Issue

Gratitude and happiness that's secure

The two go hand in hand. But our gratitude needs to find its roots in God.

Mary Elizabeth Sweder

I Had a very special Thanksgiving last year. The traditional meal my family had on the appointed Thursday was a happy event. But another thanksgiving occurred several weeks earlier and involved my awakening to a true feeling of gratitude. The joy I suddenly felt one day was like the sudden sprouting of a seed. My seed had required months of quiet nurturing before it could push above the surface of the soil. But when it finally appeared, what a sturdy shoot it proved to be!

My thanksgiving experience began when a friend noticed a Bible verse I had copied and taped inside the cover of my school notebook. The verse reads, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."^{Ps. 68:19.}

When my friend saw the verse, she asked me, "What are these benefits—what are you grateful for?" I was perplexed. On the one hand, I felt I ought to be grateful for such things as home and family. But at the same time it seemed right to go further and to be grateful for spiritual things, such as God's goodness. In either case, it was difficult for me to get beyond the fear that happiness was a desirable but unstable thing.

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