He told me the real baddies are those who can never say thank you for anything, whatever you do for them. But once an inmate begins to express gratitude for little favors, and then begins to thank God, change has begun. He may still have more years to serve his time, but there is hope at the end of the road. As I drove through this parish I noticed the big satellite dishes that bring in dozens of programs from space. But imagine a farmer who pointed his dish horizontally towards Kingston, or Ottawa, or Toronto, and hoped to see what was going on.
Faith is a direction of looking.
And as soon as we are thankful our faith satellite is pointed in the right direction. If we are never thankful, we never see what God has for us anywhere. And the reason why God wants his children to be thankful is that thanksgiving makes us whole. We can also see that heart thanksgiving has a powerful effect. Thankful people look radiant.