This morning was no different. A man about the age of my dad pulled up behind me on his bicycle and confided, "I hated my red hair every day of my life until it all fell out, and now I'd do anything to have it back." He chatted with me a bit more, then road off, hollering back over his shoulder, "I love your hair. It's beautiful!" I called out, "Actually, I like it too!"
His comment stuck with me as I continued my morning walk, and I wondered how often I'm guilty of the same thing. How often do I complain about something that might one day be taken away from me, leaving me full of regret and an immense desire to have that very thing back? I admit, it was convicting.
We, as Christians, should be the most thankful people in the world, and we shouldn't let a day go by that we don't thank the Lord for all His many blessings. In fact, we should even thank Him for the things that we don't like about our lives because they may be blessings in disguise. That job that sucks the life out of us. That task that we dread doing every day. Those extra pounds that don't seem to want to find another home. The red hair. The green eyes. The freckles. The wrinkles. The cellulite. We look at these things and turn up our noses in disgust, but is that the proper response? Will we one day discover that what we had wasn't so bad and the alternative is unthinkable? Like the gentleman I met this morning would say, "Red hair is better than no hair."
My point? Instead of complaining about things, how about we live each day with an attitude of gratitude? If the thing we don't like is something we could (and should) fix, like weight issues or bad habits, then we ought to work on it through the power of Christ. But if it's simply the way God made us or something that He has provided for us, let us be grateful instead of griping. We are blessed. Let's make sure we act like it!
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. - I Thessalonians 5:18
No comments:
Post a Comment