What Do You Say?

“What do you say?” 

 

It’s a question that gets asked five bazillion times a day in the Moritz household.  For anyone who is wondering, a bazillion is a completely made-up but very large number. We ask this question anytime we give something to our kids.  I hand them their morning coffee (aka hot cocoa) and I ask, “What do you say?”  The answer I’m looking for is, obviously, “Thank you,” even though I keep waiting for them to surprise me with a truly original answer.  “Moose, Dad…we say moose.”

 

We go through this so many times that I’m starting to get a little worried that my boys aren’t catching on.  I say “my boys” because my daughter is only five months old and to expect her to say “thank you” would be mean. Sometimes they remember and I’m flooded with warm feelings and, if they asked at that very moment, would buy them a pony…or a dragon.  But most of the time they forget.  I’ve started taking whatever it is away from them, and THEN asking.  That usually gets me an annoyed raise of the eyebrow and a totally unthankful thank you. 

 

So why do I go through this with them?  Because I want to cultivate a heart of gratitude in them.  The funny thing is, is that they can spot an ungrateful person.  In the movie “Babe” (that’ll do pig) there’s a scene where the grandfather has made a beautiful handmade dollhouse for his granddaughter but when she gets it, she pitches a fit.  It’s not the one she saw in the store.  Both my boys will look at me and say, “Daddy.  She’s being ugly” because in our house “ugly” is an attitude and not an unfortunate facial feature.  They seem to get it with other people but not with themselves.  And so I ask, “What do you say?” and hope that eventually the answer will come without the question. 

 

I think I need to ask myself that question more than I do because God gives me more than I ever thank Him for.  I’m not even talking about the “biggies” of grace, love, salvation, joy, etc…  I’m talking about the everyday, ordinary happenings that I usually overlook as everyday and ordinary.  A beautiful sunrise.  What do I say?  A choice of what to wear or eat.  What do I say?  My pay-check gets deposited.  What do I say?  I love my family and my job/s.  What do I say?  Add to those things, the uncountable other blessings I enjoy, and my mouth should never stop saying “Thank You!”  And yet, my mouth finds all sorts of other things to say, most of which it shouldn’t say.  And so at the end of the day, I’m probably more “ugly” than grateful. 

 

My wife had a great idea.  Her answer to the gratitude problem is not my question and answer routine.  She, being much smarter and more positive than I am, decided to practice gratitude.  So, we went to Borders last night and bought a journal that is going to be our gratitude journal for the summer.  Every few days, we’re going to sit down with the boys and write down things that we want to thank God for.  If possible, we’ll glue a picture in too.  By the end of the summer, we should have an amazing record and reminder of how we saw the gracious hand of God.  And when I read it later on I hope I won’t have to be reminded what to say.