Be Thankful like a Four-Year-Old

Last Sunday, during Sunday School, the 4-year-olds in the room were asked what they were thankful for during this special time of family and festivities. They each thought long and hard before giving their answers, and most of them expressed thankfulness for far more than friends and family.

I often think of how sayings like “friends and family” or “thoughts and prayers” have become throwaway phrases. What we want to say to each other does more for ourselves than to those for who intend it. This isn’t true for 4-year-olds.

When you ask a toddler a serious question, you expect a silly answer. But if you stop and think about it, what a 4-year-old tells you may be silly to you and serious to him. So when I asked a group of toddlers what they were thankful for this year, they had some serious responses.

One kid said inventions. After I chuckled, I listened. He drew a complex diagram on construction paper. I saw wildly shaped tubes and widgets of all sizes. The kid told me that it was a pancake maker, kind of like the one Pee-wee Herman had in his "Big Adventure" movie. His explanation was dramatic and exciting. At that moment, I was thankful for imagination and creativity.

Another kid illustrated what he wanted to give thanks to by drawing a barely understandable spaceship. On board were people and animals. To me…