I learn from my children more often than they know.
Today my daughter's school called telling us she'd been to the nurses office and they thought she needed glasses. It was news to us, but nonetheless, we took her for an eye exam and lo and behold, she definitely needed them.
During her meal with her daddy before the exam, her prayer was "Please don't let me have to get glasses."
Then she went for her exam to find out she needed them.
At dinner, her prayer was this: "Thank you for letting me find out I need glasses so I can see better."
It was in that moment when she really taught me something. She asked God for one thing, but when it turned out differently than she wanted, she still thanked God. She allowed herself to see Him in it, to find the good, to be thankful. She could have been mad, but she was grateful that she'll now be able to better see.
An attitude of gratitude.
That is what I want to have.
That is the small, yet powerful, lesson my 11 year old reminded me of/taught me today.
How many times do I ask God for something, only to have to wait….or be told no…or to see it pan out differently? And when that happens, do I thank Him? Honestly: usually not.
And so I challenge myself and you in this season where everyone remembers what they are thankful for, to be thankful every day. To be thankful when it doesn't go my way. To thank God even when the answer is different from what I expect or want.
To have an attitude of gratitude no matter what…..one day at a time.
After all, sometimes we need better glasses to see life more clearly. Gratitude can do that for us.
I am thankful for my daughter teaching me something quite valuable that as an adult I often times have abandoned.
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