Every day I will praise You. —Psalm 145:2 NIV
When I taught fulltime and wrote in the early morning or evening hours, I had little time and energy to do special things for my husband, such as slip a banana in his lunch box or wash the plastic container he used for cake. I was lucky to get supper on the table before 7 p.m. and the dishes stacked in the dishwasher before I went to bed or ran out of my second wind. Often he made supper and cleaned up afterward to give me time to write.
But one summer day, I decided to show my gratitude for all his hard work by slipping a banana into his lunch box. But did he appreciate my thoughtfulness? Oh, no. He complained the banana was too ripe.
“I like them almost green,” he said.
Couldn’t he have lied just a little bit? I wanted to hear “Boy, that banana hit the spot! Thanks!”
Biting back a sharp retort and stuffing the hurt, I pulled out the plastic cake container from his bucket and stacked it with the dirty dishes.
“You don’t have to wash that thing every day,” he said in a tone that made me feel like a reprimanded child. I knew he was trying to save me extra work, but I’d wanted to make him feel appreciated. Instead I got negative, negative, negative.
“Thanks for reminding me of why I stop doing little things to please you,” I muttered when he left the room.
The next day, after I’d filled my journal with two pages of anger, I opened my Bible to the day’s reading.
“Every day I will bless thee,” I read, “and praise thy name” (Psalm 145:2).
A heart full of anger has no room for praise.
God has a funny way of nudging me when my attitude isn’t what it should be.
I opened my journal to the entry I’d made just two days prior to my whining session when I’d filled four pages listing things I love—laundry blowing in the wind, white cotton ball clouds skimming across a summer blue sky, a soft breeze caressing my cheek, a quiet snowfall, a neon rainbow arched across a storm-studded sky, a misty morning, a blazing sunset, the blush of dawn, a field of pristine, unbroken snow….
The old hymn “Count Your Blessings” reverberated in my mind, and the anger dissipated from my heart. In light of all these priceless blessings right in front of my nose every day that don’t cost me a cent—gifts from God for me to enjoy—how trivial my reasons for being angry were!
A heart full of anger has no room for praise, but a heart full of praise has no room for anger.
With what, then, will you fill your heart? The choice is yours. Only one will bring the satisfaction and joy you crave.
When I think of all the wonders You created in the world around me and the awesome deeds You have wrought in my life, Lord God, I am humbled by Your greatness. Sometimes I forget who You are and act like a spoiled child. Forgive me. Amen.
Read and reflect on Psalm 145.
From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea: 101 devotional readings to savor during your time with God © 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.
Michele Huey 