Choose Gratitude

Remember see-saw fun? My mind goes back to that simple piece of equipment powered [usually] by two friends, one at each end. Each day is powered by one of two attitudes: complaint or gratitude. One of the best examples of complaining is found in Numbers 11: (1) "Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them His anger was aroused. ... (4) The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, 'If only we had meat to eat! (5) We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost - also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. (6) But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!'" How very miserable their lives had become: freed from slavery, departed with untold riches, kept shaded during the day by a cloud, kept warm at night by a pillar of fire, miraculously saved from an aggressive Egyptian army, given sweet and refreshing water in the desert, and now this boring manna from God to eat - "The manna ... tasted like something made with olive oil." (V.7-8). Inevitably during see-saw fun, a third person would join and weigh down one end. This is exactly how complaining burdens the soul; we choose its misery over the beauty of The Father's blessings. Such a choice makes very long days and - like the person on the lightest end of the see-saw - causes a lot of unnecessary racket! Why not recognize and acknowledge the precious manna God gives us continually. Yes, choose gratitude!