“I WILL REMEMBER the WORKS of the Lord. Yes, I WILL REMEMBER the AMAZING THINGS You DID LONG AGO. I WILL THINK about ALL You HAVE DONE; I WILL REFLECT upon Your DEEDS.” – Psalm 77:11-12 New English Translation.
Once upon a not-so-happy New Year’s Day in Los Angeles, a man named John Kralik found himself standing on a mountain trail, staring at the city below. He was 53 years old, and life felt like it was crumbling around him. His law firm was barely surviving, his marriage had ended, his relationship with his children was strained, and money was tight. Even his apartment felt more like a shoebox than a home.
John could have stayed stuck in despair. But up on that trail, a thought struck him like a lightning bolt: What if the key to happiness wasn’t getting more… but being grateful for what I already have?
The Uncommon Idea!
That spark turned into a bold experiment. John decided he would write 365 thank-you notes in one year—one every single day. Not emails. Not texts. Real, handwritten notes.
At first, it seemed almost silly. Who writes thank you notes anymore? But John pressed on. He wrote to friends who had stuck by him, clients who had trusted him, his children’s teachers, even the barista who remembered his coffee order.
The Ripple Effect of Gratitude
Something marvelous began to happen.
His law practice revived as clients appreciated his gratitude and sent more business his way.
His relationships healed—his children felt his love in those notes, and bonds grew stronger.
His perspective shifted—instead of focusing on what was missing, he saw abundance everywhere.
His health also improved, he lost weight, felt lighter, and carried himself with renewed energy.
Each envelope sealed wasn’t just a note, it was a lifeline pulling him out of despair.
By the end of the year, John wasn’t the same man who had stood on that mountain trail. He had discovered that gratitude wasn’t just polite, it was powerful. It could rebuild careers, mend families, and restore hope.
His story became the book 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life. Readers around the world found themselves inspired to pick up a pen and rediscover the lost art of saying “thank you.” Gratitude is not passive, it’s active. It’s a choice, a practice, a discipline. And when practiced daily, it can transform even the bleakest chapters of life into stories of renewal. Gratitude is both vertical and horizontal. Vertical to the God who made us and horizontal to the people who have made laudable contributions to our lives.
Both forms of gratitude are essential, and none should be taken for granted! In Daniel 5:23 New English Translation, a king was rebuked for not expressing gratitude to God: “…You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend. But you have not glorified the God who has in His control your very breath and all your ways!”
This king, Belshazzar was slain that same night which also brings to mind another king, Herod, in Acts 12:23 New English Translation who also died because of the same error of not giving glory to God: “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck Herod down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
Paul the apostle demonstrated both forms of gratitude – vertical and horizontal. As documented in his epistles, there are several references of his vertical gratitude like First Corinthians 1:4 and Philippians 1:3. In Romans 16:1-16, we can see him expressing the horizontal form of gratitude to different people who have made great contributions to his ministry.
American author, Zig Ziglar said, “A grateful heart sees blessings others overlook.” What blessings have you received from God and through people that you have overlooked until now? It is high time to do the right thing and express both form of gratitude, vertical and horizontal both to God and to people who God has used to make a difference in your life. [To be continued].
