When Gratitude Becomes Giving - Rev. Melissa St. Clair

My childhood was full of routines and rituals, but there are two in particular that I have carried with me into my adult life:

1. Ordering pizza on Sunday nights

2. Writing thank you notes

I’ve found that the act of writing a thank you note doesn’t just benefit the recipient. It also allows me to tap into the anticipation, excitement, and joy I felt in receiving the gift all over again. I’ll confess that these days I find myself putting pen to paper less often than I send a digital form of thanks. Even so, there’s something about calling that person by name and channeling my appreciation into words that feels like it strengthens the tether between our hearts.

Over time, I’ve noticed that this posture of gratitude has begun to shape other areas of my life as well.

My prayer life has started to take on this form. I find that more often than not, my first waking thought is one of gratitude for what God is doing in my life, which is often followed by a litany of prayers that are decidedly more beggy but no less heartfelt in nature.

Anne Lamott, in her book on prayer, writes, “Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides….When you are aware of all that has been given to you, in your lifetime and the past few days, it is hard not to be humbled, and pleased to give back” (“Help, Thanks, Wow: Three Essential Prayers”).

That spirit of giving back was on my mind the first time I made an intentional commitment to make an ongoing financial gift. I sat at my kitchen table and thought about all those who supported me through the ordination process. My grandpa, who faithfully gave to my home church’s seminarian support fund. The St. Louis congregations that pooled their resources to provide scholarships to Eden Theological Seminary students. The colleague who was early in his own ministry yet still slipped me some book money every semester.

So many people had been generous with me. Probably more than I knew.

It suddenly didn’t seem so difficult to complete the card. I wanted to say thanks to God for everyone who had made sure I had what I needed to serve the church in the way I felt called.

At the Center for Faith & Giving, we believe that stewardship isn’t just a season or a campaign in the life of the church – It’s a spiritual discipline and way of life in response to our generous God.

Our gratitude, expressed in prayer, giving, and daily living, becomes both the root and the fruit of our faith.

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Rev. Melissa R. St. Clair serves as the Minister for Faith & Giving for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In that role, she is also the Executive Director for the Center for Faith & Giving. She and her spouse, Ben, reside in Knoxville, TN, with their two rescue pups.