Donna Naborsyour Spiritual jewelry box.

 

Thankful for Oranges

When my oldest grandson started kindergarten, he called me one day to tell me he received two oranges at school. He spoke so fast, I could barely understand him. Why would a five year old be excited about oranges, especially a five year old that didn’t even like oranges? I assumed it was the thrill of having received something and began to consider my own attitude of thankfulness. Am I excited and thankful for the things I receive every day, or do I have expectations that cause me to discount the blessings in life?

It’s eye opening to discover the things we can learn from children. They are thankful for simple things. For example, one Christmas when my daughter was four years old, she colored a picture from her coloring book and wrapped it as a present for her two and a half year old brother. When he opened the present, she began showing him how she colored each detail. I was amazed at his sincere response, “Thank you, Katie”. She made it for him, and he was thankful.

My grandchildren’s typical response to anything I do for them is a thank you. They have an awesome mom that turned out to be so awesome because of her awesome mom (hmmm). Children are easily molded and follow our example. We can teach them to be thankful with words, but the results of what they learn will be based on what we show them with our actions. What they see will be what they learn. If we raise our children without the expectation of receiving, then they will be thankful when they do receive.

Remember a five year old so thankful for two oranges that he called his grandma to tell her about it. Of course, I later learned that the behavior system for kindergarten at my grandson’s school had changed. It was no longer green for good behavior, yellow for a warning, and red for uh-oh, I’m in trouble. A rainbow of colors ranging from an awesome orange to yellow and several other colors in between now reflected behavior. I think there might have even been a purple with green polka dots somewhere in the rainbow. Five year-olds must be smarter these days in order to understand the system. My grandson sure expressed excitement about his oranges, and I gained a lesson in thankfulness.

Have you received any oranges this week that you don’t like? Remember to be thankful for what you receive. Unlike kindergarten, you can always bless someone else by passing your oranges to them. It is truly more blessed to give than to receive.