Article by Barbara Mims - Link HERE
A Lesson in Gratitude
It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.
Psalm 119:71
We did our grocery shopping today. I like to thank the Lord for what can seem very ordinary:
our groceries
the money to buy food
our car and the fuel to go shopping
the health to take care of our needs
Many
years ago as a young, single adult in a heated frame of mind, I
impulsively moved myself from a very comfortable, secure environment to
live in a small, minimally-furnished apartment all by myself. I had no
car and no telephone. I had to ride the city bus to get to my
secretarial job downtown and to get to the grocery store.
As
I prepared for bed that first night in my new home, I began to realize
some of the results of my rash behavior and upchucked my supper!
Right
away I learned to not buy too many things at one time since there was
nobody to carry the purchases other than me. As a result, I often would
stop at the grocery store on my way home from work, buy the bare minimum
of my needs, and then would have to pay bus fare again to finish
getting home.
If I wanted
or needed to use a telephone, I either walked outside for a block to a
phone booth outside of a restaurant, or waited until a weekday when I
could use the phone in my office.
At
least I had a decent paycheck to cover the rent, bus fare, and of
course, the groceries. The apartment complex had a beautiful outdoor
swimming pool that I may have used once -- a questionable benefit in
light of the practicalities I did not have.
Blessedly,
that situation only lasted about 5 months. The entire experience taught
me some valuable life lessons in a number of areas:
1) rash decisions are usually the most foolish choice
2) be thankful and do not take for granted what we have
At
that time I knew the Lord Jesus as my Savior, but clearly, my maturity
was lacking in some key areas. I can look back now, some 50 years later,
to thank the Lord for not deserting me in my foolish behavior.
Thank you so much for this wonderful story Barbara; and a lesson to many young people today who seem to think they know better. I really appreciate you sharing this with us here.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
I think we can all look back at decisions we made that weren't the best! I appreciate the reminder that God doesn't desert us when we do things like that, but allows us to grow through them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this and for the reminder to always look for things to be thankful for.