My daughter is one of the most thankful people I’ve ever known. When she was quite small, any time someone gave her even a tiny gift, she’d pour out her thanks to them over and over. She’d gush and rave about how much she loved the gift, how she couldn’t believe they’d done that for her, and how she’d “always wanted one of those!”
Which is one of the reasons my daddy loved to buy things for her. 🙂
When Charis was six years old, she said to my dad, “Poppy, I’ve always wanted a Baby Chou-Chou doll.” Now, he had no idea what a Baby Chou Chou was, but he promptly pulled out his credit card, went on the internet, and ordered her one. When it arrived, he was showered with little girl kisses and hugs and many thanks.
When she was seven, Dad took her to a hand-made chocolate shop, where she sampled dozens of chocolates. The conversation went something like this:
Poppy: “Do you like that?”
Charis: “Yes.”
Poppy (to clerk): “I’ll take three.” Then to Charis: “What about this one? Do you like it?”
Charis: “Yes.”
Poppy: “I’ll take three of those.”
Before they left, Dad had racked up a whopping $50 bill for chocolates, and he loved doing it. Once again, Charis showered him with all the thanks his Poppy-heart could hold.
When we have a thankful attitude, it makes people want to do stuff for us.
God’s no different. Let’s look at the next verse inside the cover of Daddy’s Bible:
Psalm 50:23 “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Friends, God wants to save us. In modern-day language, that means God wants to be our super-hero. He wants to rescue us from all sorts of bad things. He wants to do kind things for us, and make our lives safe and good and peaceful and lovely.
And when He does those wonderful things for us, He likes us to shower Him with our thanks. He wants us to pour out our hearts and say, “Thank You, thank You, thank You!”
When we get excited about the little things He does for us, and we tell him how grateful we are, it warms His heart toward us. It makes Him want to do even more good things for us. Just like my Daddy delighted in doing special things for his granddaughter, who poured out her gratitude to him, God longs for our arms to wrap around His great neck. He longs for us to kiss His holy cheek and say, “I can’t believe You did that, God! Thank You!”
Dear Father, Thank You, thank You, thank You for all You do for me every day. I can’t believe You love me that much. I love You, Father!
Renae,
I looked forward all day to coming home to read what you got from your Daddy’s Bible today. I am praying for you still. But you know I have looked at my Bible differently the last two days. I’ve looked at it and wondered who will read my notes one day and what will they learn from them. Thank you so much for sharing your Daddy’s heart and your own with us all at this time.
Deb
Thanks so much, Debbie. Saying goodbye to my sweet father is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But reading his Bible, and the verses that were especially important to him, makes me feel like he’s still right here, talking to me like he always did. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.
Love this post, Renae. I have a feeling all of the lessons from your daddy’s Bible are going to be good ones!
I think so too, Cheryl. He was a very wise man.