A few weeks ago, I was feeling blah. You know? Like one of those days when you don’t feel great, everything bothers you and you are not sure if you’re mad, sad or need a good cry.
On this particular day I felt overwhelmed with life. The house was a mess, laundry was piled high, I had a big event coming up that I was still preparing for, and to top everything off I went to grab some uncooked rice off the container and it spilled all over my kitchen floor. You can say I was not ok.
The week before I had ordered my son a nice navy blue toddler sofa to replace his old one because I knew he needed one since he was outgrowing the old one and it was super dirty. It was finally showing up this particular day so I was at least excited about that to show my son his new sofa. In the midst of all the chaos, the sofa was delivered! I was like ok well if nothing goes right today, seeing my son’s face light up for this sofa is gonna be all worth it!
I opened the box and I called my son over to reveal his new cute little sofa! He was indeed happy and he lit up when I first showed him. He even said one sweet thank you and sat on it and then said “This is for Lucas!” and I felt like such a great mom for a moment. However, literally not even two minutes later he got up out of the sofa and started asking for goldfish. The sweet moment was gone and this kid was on to the next thing he wanted, completely forgetting how awesome I had been buying him this amazing sofa. It was deflating. I texted my husband and told him that our son was an ungrateful spoiled brat because he wasn’t seeing how he was being ungrateful and he didn’t acknowledge my generosity in getting him a way better sofa than the one before.
Shortly after all this happened, the Lord impressed on my heart and said “Don’t you act like a spoiled brat towards me, your heavenly father, sometimes too?” I immediately felt the conviction of the Lord. The Holy Spirit reminded me of how many times Father God had answered prayers, He had given me things I didn’t even know I needed or would make my life better. In the quick moment of receiving the blessing, I was super grateful, I thanked Him and was happy about it for a little bit, but so easily then started praying/asking God for what I felt I now needed. I realized I’m not that different from my son in some seasons. I can also sometimes be quick to say “Thank you, next…” and then continue to ask for my next need, quickly forgetting how awesome, generous and kind God has been. If we’re not careful we can become God’s spoiled children too.
The Holy Spirit, through my son, reminded me of the importance of remaining grateful. I’m not saying my feelings were not valid and the mess around me wasn’t my reality, but with a grateful heart EVERYTHING changes, perspective changes, atmospheres change and negativity/ungratefulness turns into positivity/gratefulness. Was my house a mess? Yes, but I was reminded that I had prayed for this house and I prayed for it not to be always clean but for me to grow the fruits of the spirit in it. Did I have a lot of laundry to do? Yes, but I was thankful that my son lacked nothing and actually we often blessed people with our clothes. So I’m thankful for the clothes He provides us. Did I have a lot of work for our next event? Yes, but I had the privilege to bless the body with my gift of event planning so they can enjoy themselves and have fun! Was it frustrating that I just spilled uncooked rice all over my kitchen floor? Definitely, but I thanked God for the amazing rice I could prepare for the family I prayed for.
The bible says “Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.” Psalms 100:3-5 NLT
And 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “give thanks in all circumstances…”
God is full of grace, kindness, and love for us. He sent the ultimate gift of His one and only son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we could have a relationship with Him and be cleansed of our sins so we can enter heaven and be with Him for eternity. What a gift! Surely this alone is a reason to be thankful and praise Him. But God is such a great Father that He doesn’t stop there. According to His will, He will answer our prayers and He gives us far more than we can imagine here on earth so we can glorify and praise His name!
In writing all this, I’m not undermining your current circumstance or the hard season you might be in, but what I am saying is, let’s try to find things everyday that we can be thankful to our God. And if you’re in a good season, stop to acknowledge Him instead of being quick to say, “Thank you God, next.” I hope you find that as you do, your perspective changes and you are filled with joy with how good God has been.
