“Like the proud mother who is thrilled to receive a wilted bouquet of dandelions from her child, so God celebrates our feeble expressions of gratitude.”
~ Richard Foster~


Lately I feel like I could classify my actions easily as “feeble expressions of gratitude”. There is so much I know I am thankful for. I could sit down and fill a page front and back of what I know the Lord has blessed me with. Then why do I settle for the little “Thank you Lord” with my words, but my actions sometimes doesn’t show it.

This is me raw and honest. I even prayed yesterday, “Lord I am having trouble seeing everything I am grateful for”. Anything that comes my way where I can show God’s glory, God’s love, and God mercy I should be jumping up and down like a dog whose owner just came home. But instead I complain. Let me explain. My mood has been somewhat sour this week (there are some medical reasons for that, but mostly selfish ones). I have a Drs apt on Thursday, the office asked if I would be willing to pick up this sweet elderly lady who can no longer drive and bring her with me. I said, “sure” I mean how can you say no, and you really SHOULD not say no being the loving, giving Christian you are. But (I said this is real me, you want to run in fear that I may burst your imagine of me), but I have been complaining all week to “manly man” about it. I even went as far to say last night, “I know this is what God wants me to do, what he wants me to be, but dang it I am going to complain the whole way”. Now what a pitiful attitude! I am even embarrassed to type it.

The thing that grieves me even more is that my feeble expression of doing what is right even if I complain all the way through it makes God smile. Maybe He is even chuckling because he knows he is making me step out of my comfort zone.

Those of you who are parents I think can understand this one. So many times we teach our children to do the right thing to make the right decisions. Yesterday I had a son who did not turn in some homework; he informed me that I was going to be getting a call from the teacher. As he told me he turned his head to the window and had tears in his eyes because he knew he made some poor choices. So why am I smiling? Because past history would go something like, said child saying “everything is fine, I have no homework, I had a great day” even knowing I may get a call. Then said call comes in and I am hit blindsided, and said child lied to me. After many trials and go arounds, this child now gets in the car tells me the truth, tells me what is coming, and tells me “I messed up”. This to me is as sweet as him bringing me a bouquet of dandelions. He is learning and he is being stretched.

So my complaining and son’s failure to do the homework still has God smiling at our feeble attempts of being grateful. God knows we are trying, God knows we will be blessed in the end, and some day our dandelions won’t be wilted instead they will be beautiful and strong. And we will hear the words “well done good and faithful servant”.

PS – and during my sour mood day, can I just say that in the midst of it I got to speak to one blogger for the first time on the phone (she brightened my day), and I received such a sweet friendship email from another blogger. They did not know what I was going through, but the Lord brought them to cheer me up and tell me