For Wilshire Baptist Church
As much as we love using emojis on social media because they are colorful and are a quick way of making a statement, many are difficult to translate. That’s especially true with all the iterations of smile faces. Some are obvious: happy, mad, embarrassed. But some are less so unless you know the person sending them and have become familiar with their emoji vocabulary.
Thumbs up is a popular emoji to express “yes,” “good,” “I agree,” “well done.” Some people use thumbs up to say “OK,” although “OK” has its own specific emoji. There’s also a thumbs down, which is understood by most of us to mean “disagree” or “disapprove.”
I wish there was an emoji for a sideways thumb. When I was in high school, my buddy John Lokke and I took the familiar thumbs up sign and turned it on its side, literally, to express an attitude somewhere between enthusiasm and disgruntlement. It basically said we were OK and content with the situation as it was, but in time it became an all-purpose greeting. It was a way of saying, “Good to see you, glad you made it through whatever you had to go through to get here,” or, “Hang in there until I see again.” Mostly it was an acknowledgement of friendship. John was artistic, and I’m sure he would have created a sideways thumb emoji had he not died in his early 20s.
I’ve wondered this week if there is an emoji for giving thanks and the results are mixed. Type “Thanksgiving” and you don’t get anything. Type “Happy Thanksgiving” and you get a turkey, a table place setting and a fall leaf. Those images depict the day and the traditions, but not the sentiment of gratitude that is the foundation for the day.
All of that to say that social media emojis are not really up to the task of expressing more complex feelings such as gratitude for someone or thankfulness to God for our many blessings. We have to do that the old-fashioned way — with a card, a hug, a visit, a meal, time spent in fellowship. Like my sideways thumb with John, it probably depends on the relationship you have as to how you express your gratitude. Giving thanks for someone requires a personal and deliberate touch.
I was finished writing about this when a Thanksgiving card came in the mail with a quote by author and poet Alice Walker: “‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say.” I looked it up and found there is more to the quote. Walker continued, “I say that one a lot. ‘Thank you’ expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.”
So, I typed “thank you” into a text box and got a pair of praying hands and a smile face with squinty eyes – the kind of eyes that might be holding back tears of gratitude.
And so that is my message for Thanksgiving this year: 🙏☺️