ThankYou

Yesterday, juts before we all sat down for dinner (baked potato soup), I asked Micah to say the blessing, like I do at every meal, simply because he enjoys doing it. I folded my hands and closed my eyes and waited for the usual "Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, let this food to us be blessed" that he always says. But instead, I heard my 4 year old say a new prayer - one straight from the heart. It went something like this: "dear Jesus, thank you for this food, thank you for my mom and dad and Elijah and grandma and grandpa and friends". I was just about speechless. I had never heard him say a prayer like that, and I was so touched by hearing that.

When I put the boys to bed last night, Micah and Elijah said their usual prayers, and I pointed out to Micah that he could say his own prayer If he wanted to, and he did. This prayer, like the one at dinner, was thank you for this and that, and then he closed it with "I just love you so much, God". I couldn't help but smile. That showed me that I must be doing something right.

I said all that to say this. I think we, as a culture and a country, need to learn to say thank you more often. I don't think we always realize how much we have - we are too focused on what we don't have. We need to remember that while it's nice to have nice things, that shouldn't be our main focus in life. We should always remember that if we have a roof over our heads and full tummies at night, then we have more than most people in this world. We may not have a bigger television than someone, but does that really matter in the big scheme of things? It doesn't.

So today, say thank you for the things you have more than you wish for the things you don't.