Article November 23, 1963 Issue

Expressing Gratitude

[Of Special Interest to Children]

LILLA R. LYDER

Mary and Ann were two sisters who had always known of Christian Science. When they were small, their mother had taught them to express gratitude by saying "Thank you" when they were given something or when anything was done for them. Now they were old enough to learn the true meaning of gratitude.

The girls and their mother looked in a dictionary for the difinition of the word "gratitude." They found out that the word comes from the Latin gratus, meaning pleasing, thankful. Mother told the girls that gratitude comes from the heart—from one's true, honest feeling that one has pleased God. "We please God," she said, "by doing the right thing at the right time and in the right way."

Their mother then said that the next step is to express the joyous feeling of thankfulness in ways other than that of merely saying "Thank you." Mrs. Eddy says on page 3 of Science and Health: "Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

A High School Student Writes