I just spent some time in California with my mother, celebrating her birthday. It was, as always a good time, a blessed time. We had a group call to include the siblings that were out of state, too. It was very nice. In the conversation, it was noted that my mother is known for one, very specific trait. "How are you, Mom?" one sibling asked, "And don't say 'grateful'." Why? Because we all know that my mother's singular descriptive of her everyday existence is "grateful." She's grateful for health and comforts, for friends and family, for running water and the ability to walk ... on and on. When my father died almost two years ago, she was grateful. Grateful that he was no longer in pain, that he was at home with the Lord, that she would join him again someday. Grateful. A good descriptor of my mother.
The command of Scripture is broad: "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:18). That's right: "In everything." The author of Hebrews writes, "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name" (Heb 13:15). Gratitude as a lifestyle. The original, common downfall of humans has been a lack of gratitude (Rom 1:21). Giving thanks to God, then, seems to be a matter of critical importance.
I don't know about you, but I'm quite sure I'm not nearly as good at that as I ought to be. I'm not even nearly as good at it as my mother is, and she's another human with human frailties like me. The standard I'm supposed to meet is to give thanks in everything. I'm barely sufficient at giving thanks for the pleasant things. I clearly have some work to do in the area of gratitude. I can only hope that the day might come where people ask me, "Please don't say 'grateful'. We all know you're grateful." Don't worry; I haven't arrived at that point yet.
I remember at Grandpa's funeral, I heard comments from people that were concerned that she wasn't properly accepting his death because she was grateful and not a hysterical mess. It speaks to how little we see gratefulness demonstrated that we question it when we see it. Thankfully, I was able to be grateful with her during that time, but I also realize I'm not as connected to him as she was. I hope that when hardship comes, I can rely on gratefulness too.
ReplyDeleteStan, you are fortunate to have a parent who models “an attitude of gratitude.” (My mom was more of a Negative Nellie or a Debbie Downer; my dad would always say she had miserable blood.) I am a fairly realistic person (blending idealism and cynicism)--not temperamentally inclined to consistently “look on the bright side” of things. Still, I find that the older I grow in the Lord, the more my outlook stays positive and hopeful, as I am expectant that God is working in all circumstances of my life, whether “good” or “bad.” This is a reality that unbelievers cannot know, and to me, it makes all the difference in the world.
ReplyDeleteI read this somewhere, and it really stuck with me: “What if you had tomorrow only those things that you remembered to thank God for today?” If something is valuable (even precious) to me, I really want to express that fact to the Lord!
ReplyDeleteOn a humorous note, regarding when people ask “How are you?” I’ve heard this quip: “If you respond, ‘I can’t complain,’ then you just aren’t trying hard enough.” (Funny but not a good practice, of course.)
ReplyDeleteLorna,
ReplyDeleteWhen I get the "I can't complain" response, I assure them that of course they can, but I'm grateful they're not complaining to me.
(See what I did there?)