“Above all, gratitude is a tool God has given us to fight the more of destruction. Gratitude gets our hearts right with God and aligns our thoughts with His will. It makes us remember and breathes life into the things that lead us to our God-given purpose.” (Lori Shumaker Quote)
All the other children in this certain fourth grade class had their own iPads. Only one little girl, Ida, did not. She used one of the school’s iPads in her classroom. One day Ida’s teacher saw her sitting with her head, bowed down on her desk when it was the planned time in which the young learners were given 20 minutes to begin working on reports about famous women, a special project given to help the students develop research skills, writing skills, and presentation skills.
The teacher calls Ida to her desk and says, “What’s going on? Do you want to talk about it?” Ida says, “Can we talk outside in the hallway?” The teacher, desiring to get to the root of Ida’s behavior quickly responded, without any hesitation. “Follow me.” Once outside in the hallway, away from the ears of her students, Ida spilled the beans. She let her teacher know that whenever we have to use our iPads, I get sad because I don’t have my own. The teacher said, “But look at it this way. You can use the school’s iPad. Others have done it before they got their own. It’s okay.” Ida responds respectfully, “I know. But it is not just the same and I feel embarrassed.” The teacher does her best to uplift Ida’s spirit and sends her back into the classroom to work on her report. Ida complies, but the expression on her face was not hiding her persisting sadness that showed no signs of weakening.
That evening the teacher calls Ida’s mother and tells her about what had happened and described how downtrodden Ida felt. Ida’s mother responds, “I knew about this, and I have been saving up money, as hard as it can be, being a single parent who gets no support from Ida’s father or should we say, “from the baby’s daddy” who seldom visits her.” The teacher is thinking, “Ida’s problem has layers of complications.” The empathetic educator politely shakes her head, understanding the mother’s situation. To avoid a venting session and the revisiting of old wounds, the teacher moves to giving an update about how good Ida is doing in her school work. The iPad issue was the only part of the report that was disturbing to the mother.
The next day, Ida’s mother counted up how much money she had. She did not have enough to buy the iPad for Ida. Determined to remedy the matter, she calls her siblings and ask if they could help. Long story short, she was able to get an iPad for Ida. She picked out a pretty one, pink and purchased at a reduced sale price, and yet it had all the features of the latest model of iPads. She rushes home, wraps it up before Ida gets home from school and sits the unexpected gift on the kitchen table. As soon as Ida comes home, she takes her book bag off her shoulder and slings it into her favorite blue chair. In such a hurry to look for a snack, she overlooks the wrapped package sitting on the table. Mother enters the room and picks it up and says, “Ida! Look! This package is for you!” Ida tears off the paper faster than any child has ever opened a present before. She might have set a world record for unwrapping a gift. She pulls out the pretty, pink iPad. You would have expected her to be overwhelmed, overflowing with joy and appreciative of her mom’s thoughtfulness. However, that was not the response. Shockingly, Ida does not express any gratitude at all to her mother for the gift. Ida just says, “It’s the wrong color. Please don’t buy me anything pink again.”
Just like how many of today’s movies leave you hanging in terms of what happens next, I will borrow that technique and let you write the ending to this story about Ida and her pink iPad. Have fun! But before you start thinking about an ending to Ida’s story, let’s get to the beginning of “your story” for today. It is a lesson from Ida! Here you go!
The lesson: Instead of opening your mouth with a criticism or a complaint, about something someone does for you or in regard to an unexpected gift; instead of a criticism or a complaint, start with a compliment at the least, considering the thoughtfulness of the person(s) who did something for you or gave you an unexpected gift, purchased with their own resources, expending their time and energy. Show gratitude! Be appreciative! Express your gratitude in words! Bite your tongue if it is “not the right color,” speaking metaphorically.” Be thankful! What the person or persons did was unexpected and undeniably it should be welcomed and not unwelcomed, and wrapped in unhidden gratefulness.
My oldest son is preaching a series on being holy, and this past Sunday he told the congregation about “Pursuing Holiness.” Do you want to know something? Well, here’s something to know and note. The wisdom I just shared in the paragraph above will help you in your pursuit of holiness. It will help you with your set-apart actions and reactions! Think about it! Remember, God is the Creator and originator of giving, out of love. You do know He gave us Jesus, don’t you? Be blessed!
“For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be thrown away or refused if it is received with thanksgiving.” (I Corinthians 4:4 Amplified Bible)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King