Giving Thanks

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." - I Thessalonians 5:18

During our recent stay in the States, Grace had many opportunities to develop a taste for spicy Tex-Mex food. I was surprised at how she was attracted to chips and salsa, but she didn't shy away from it, even when it burned her taste buds. A love for the taste of Tex-Mex was born, which thankfully, isn't impossible to satisfy here in Israel.

Since it had been over a month since we had Tex-Mex, Colleen decided to prepare soft-tacos for dinner. There are a couple of companies that import flour tortillas and hot sauce and the rest of the ingredients are readily available, which makes it a fairly easy effort to enjoy a familiar taste from Texas.

After we had anxiously taken our places to partake of such a fine treat, I asked Grace if she wanted to give thanks for our meal. She quickly agreed and said, "Jesus, thank you for the food. Thank you for the meat and lettuce. Thank you for chips, and for sauce I don't like."

Colleen and I could barely keep our laughter behind our big smiles, but we did. It sounded so funny: "...thank you for sauce I don't like." Now that I've had some time to get past the funny part of what she prayed, I realize that she modeled something for me: to be thankful for what the Lord provides for me, even when I don't like it.

The Lord works in our lives in many ways to make us more like Jesus. And, as Colleen had provided particular food items for Grace's nourishment, the Lord sometimes provides hardships or other things we don't like for our benefit. The question is: Do we say, "Jesus, thank you for the hardships that I don't like?"