“Be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

Often when I come home for the day, I’ll take a peek in the fridge to see what’s for dinner. Last night, like every Friday night for the last six weeks, I found spaghetti, again.   I like spaghetti, but six weeks in a row was too much, or so I thought.

Since it wasn’t quite dinner time, I headed upstairs.  Another missionary friend was online and we started chatting.  Somehow it came up that my friend had been eating the same meal for lunch and dinner for the past several months. Without thinking, I almost complained about having spaghetti again.  Then it hit me, my friend would have been very happy to have my spaghetti.  It was more than she was eating.  In fact, it was more food than most of the families I work with have every day.  Many of them, and others around the world, would be thrilled just with the meat in my sauce.  And here I sat, whining about God’s provision.

I was immediately convicted. I was like the Israelites, grumbling and complaining, when God provided manna in the wilderness.  Suddenly I was very thankful for my spaghetti.  At dinner, it seemed to taste better than ever.    I realized,  it wasn’t the quality of the food, but the condition of my heart.

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Philippians 4:11