“The Gratitude Attitude”

by Rev. John R. Ramsey

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For That I Am Especially Thankful

During a harvest festival in India, an old widow arrived at her church with an extraordinarily large offering of rice – far more than the poor woman could be expected to afford.

The itinerant pastor of the church did not know the widow well. But he did know that she was very poor and so he asked her if she were making the offering in gratitude for some unusual blessing.

“Yes,” replied the woman. “My son was sick and I promised a large gift to God if he got well.” “And your son has recovered?” asked the pastor.

The widow paused. “No,” she said. “He died last week. But I know that he is in God’s care; for that I am especially thankful.”

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In A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul tells how in one church a certain person provided him with a rose boutonniere for the lapel of his suit every Sunday. At first he really appreciated it but then it sort of became routine.

Then one Sunday it became very special. As he was leaving the Sunday Service a young boy walked up to him and said, “Sir, what are you going to do with your flower?” At first the preacher didn’t know what the boy was talking about. When it sank in, he pointed to the rose on his lapel and asked the boy, “Do you mean this?”

The boy said, “Yes, sir. If you’re just going to throw it away, I would like it.”

The preacher smiled and told him he could have the flower and then casually asked what he was going to do with it. The boy, who was probably no more than 10 years old, looked up at the preacher and said, “Sir, I’m going to give it to my granny. My mother and father divorced last year. I was living with my mother, but she married again, and wanted me to live with my father. I lived with him for a while, but he said I couldn’t stay, so he sent me to live with my grandmother. She is so good to me. She cooks for me and takes care of me. She has been so good to me that I wanted to give her that pretty flower for loving me.”

When the little boy finished, the preacher could hardly speak. His eyes filled with tears and he knew God had touched him. He reached up and unpinned the rose. With the flower in his hand, he looked at the boy and said, “Son, that is the nicest thing that I’ve ever heard but you can’t have this flower because it’s not enough. If you’ll look in front of the pulpit, you’ll see a big bouquet of flowers. Different families buy them for the Church each week. Please take those flowers to your granny because she deserves the very best.”

Then the boy made one last statement that Rev. Ramsey said he would always treasure. The boy said, “What a wonderful day! I asked for one flower but got a beautiful bouquet.”

That’s the thankful spirit. That’s the gratitude attitude. And it’s that attitude that should guide our giving and our lives. Like that boy’s granny, God has blessed us so much. God has been so good to us that giving shouldn’t even be a question. It should just flow from us naturally.