Jason lives 1 7/8 miles from church. Last Sunday he walked 2/3 of the way before his Uncle Phillip picked him up. How far did Jason walk?
Christopher’s answer: 97,200 inches!! Well! The problem didn’t specify what unit of measurement they wanted the answer in. The fun thing is that Christopher’s answer is right. And his delight at giving me more to do in figuring out that it was right was worth, to him, the effort it required to get that answer!
I thought it was particularly fitting that I’d been contemplating writing an article about gratitude at the time when Christopher’s math needed to be checked today. You see, I could have sighed with frustration at a task made intentionally more difficult. I could have just told him he can’t answer the question that way; I could have made him rework it. That would have gone over like a lead balloon! I could have completely ignored the effort it took, the comprehension it demonstrated, and the accuracy he displayed in getting the correct answer. But I was, instead, grateful. I’m so grateful that I have a child who thinks outside the box. I’m glad he has that ornery streak which is tempered with the gentlest of hearts. I’m so grateful that I was able to call Grandma and Grandpa and brighten their day with his stunt. It was good to hear them laughing in delight. Crazy kid! But the whole situation illustrated a principle: you have a choice in life. You can become frustrated at the unexpected tasks which just got more difficult. Or you can thank God for the privilege of doing them to His glory. I couldn’t help singing, “Give Thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One.”
As you might guess, I tend to think in songs. (It’s fun to try to have an entire conversation taken from song lyrics.) So you won’t be surprised to know that “Give Thanks” gave way to “Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below.”
“When in our music God is glorified and adoration leaves no room for pride . . .” I love singing the praise and thanksgiving and gratitude songs to God. Not only am I giving the glory to the One to whom it is due, I’m reminding myself that I’m not so much. My adoration of God works to humble me, and I soberly tell myself, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” How absolutely amazing that the King of Glory would care about me! “Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth, would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt?” But He does. I can see it in the rainbow of flower hues, in the plethora of delectable tastes, in the myriad of pleasant aromas, and in the changing of the seasons. He gave us pleasurable things because He loves us. Everything could have been made black and white, tasting like sawdust, smelling like dirty socks, and erupting with a raucous and unbearable din. But it isn’t.
As we gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing on our Thanksgiving meals this year, my prayer for your family, and my family, is that we will have the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the mind to discern God’s goodness to us every day - and that we all will respond with grateful hearts.