Being Grateful & Not Complaining

I love jewelry. Its just one of those things I use to dress up a blah outfit. Put a few rhinestones with a t-shirt and jeans and it looks like a totally different outfit. Well, apparently, my son likes jewelry, too. Will looks at my bracelets as something to pull apart and see just how long some of them will stretch. Or so he did last night. While I was loading the dishwasher, I heard Will say "Uh oh" and heard something hit the floor. Somehow I knew what that meant. I turned to see Will had pulled one of my bracelets so far apart that the elastic string broke and little brown crystal beads rained on the floor. After I scolded him with my voice and gave him a couple of spanks on his bottom, I made him start picking up his mess. It was one of my favorite bracelets to wear because it had a matching necklace.

A little while later, Gracie came over to me. "I'm sorry Will broke your necklace, mom. I know it was your favorite," she said sincerely. I told her it was most definitely my favorite and I knew he didn't mean to. "Look at all of the other things you have," Gracie said. "You have pretty hair, a pretty mouth, pretty clothes, pretty shoes. You need to be grateful for what God has given you and not worry about the things you don't have." All I could think of was "what is a 4 year old doing telling me I need to be grateful?!" But how right she was!

Philippians 4:4-6 says, "Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers."

Be generous in your gratitude to the Lord for what you have and it will sweeten your relationship with the Lord.