Constant Praise

Let me say up front that I LOVE the library! I love doing research there. I feel like a detective digging up long lost secrets. Last night we were gathering information for a report my son needs to do on espionage during the Revolutionary War. Isn't that a FUN topic? So, we hit the card catalog, er, resource computer and found a long list of books to find. Then we went to the second level of the library and checked out encyclopedias and periodicals for more stuff. Seriously, I was in my element, grabbing books off shelves that pointed me to other books that pointed me to magazines, etc., etc. I felt like I was in a literary version of CSI! My son and I were a vision to behold, I'm sure. We were sweating, photocopying and trying to get the research done in time to get home and watch Glory Road before bedtime! He enjoys this stuff, too, although not as much as me. But when we'd find something cool, I could see in his eyes that all the effort was worth it.

While we were there, we saw another mother/son team engaging in the same activity. They didn't seem to be having as much of a good time as we were, though. At first I was judgemental. Here they were with an opportunity to spend some quality time together and they were definitely not enjoying themselves. Instead I witnessed boredom, frustration and impatience. Tsk, tsk.

On the way home, though, the Lord brought to mind times when I was in their position. Sometimes I am required to participate in activities I do not enjoy. How do I behave in those situations? I act bored, frustrated and impatient. I have even snapped at my kids. I definitely do not have the market cornered on correct behavior.

I remembered a verse in Hebrews and looked it up when I got home:

Through him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of the lips that give thanks to his name. - Hebrews 13:15.

I dug a little deeper with my research and it brought even more clarity to how I need to conduct myself, even when I don't particularly like what I'm doing. Here's one resource I used to gather information if you are like me and want to look it up for yourself. Because this is getting a little long, I'll try to summarize what I learned by paraphrasing. Here's Hebrews 13:15, sav (Soozanne's Abridge Version):

Because we have Jesus to help us, we, both individually and collectively, can and should audibly offer ongoing gratitude and praise to God in all situations and circumstances. Not because the situations are great, but because God is so great. It is sometimes hard to do that, but the gift of Jesus makes it possible for us to do it whether it is difficult or not.

I don't do that. Yes, I do that sometimes. I could probably make the case that I do it most of the time. I don't do it all the time. I know I wasn't offering praise to God when I was stuck in traffic yesterday, when no one liked the dinner I fixed last night or when I found the hole the cat tore in the window screen. Hebrews 13:15 doesn't leave wiggle room for a most-of-the-time kind of praise, though.

It is easy to praise God when I like the portion of the path He and I are walking on. Praise is even more significant, though, when that path becomes muddy, rocky or simply uninteresting and I continue to praise Him. That's the real thing.

So, the next time I am faced with a task I don't like, I will be mindful of the praise I need to offer in the midst of it. What I am already realizing is the one who will benefit most from maintaining such a positive attitude is me. God is so generous in all things, isn't he!