7 Days of Praise

Recently, I had an interesting experience at the pregnancy center that caused me to stop and think about my relationship with God in a new light.

A client called asking if she could come and get formula for her baby. Apparently, she was almost out at home and she couldn't get the right kind from WIC. I asked her what kind she needed. "Similac Advance," she replied.

I put the lady on hold while I dashed to the back storage room to check and see if we had any Similac Advance on hand. Sure enough, there were about 6 bottles of the concentrate kind. Running back to the phone, I told her it would be fine for her to come in and get some.

A couple of hours later, this client arrived. I had the formula all ready for her in a cute blue gift bag. Handing it through the window by my desk, I smiled and said I hoped it would help. Rather than replying with a relieved, "Thank you so much," like most of our clients, she looked into the bag and didn't say anything. Then, she glanced up at me and said, "Is this all you have? This isn't going to last him very long."

"Yes, that's all we have of Similac Advance, which is the kind you said you specificully needed," I replied. "We've had a lot of requests for Similac Advance lately which means that we're low on our supply right now. I'm afraid that's all we have to offer."

"Don't you have any of the powder kind?" she asked.

"No, not of Similac Advance," I replied. "We have plenty of powdered formula in other brands and in different kinds of Similac. Would another type suit your needs?"

"Well, I don't know without seeing my choices," she said.

Inwardly, I sighed. It seemed this lady was going to be a hard one to please...
I didn't want to take her back to the storage room and let her see all our forumla choices because I sensed she would be the type of person who would take ten cans if permitted! Instead, I told her to wait just a moment and I'd be right back.

Again, I trekked back to the storage room and grabbed four cans of powdered formula in different brands, including a large can of Similac that seemed similar to the Advance type. Back at the window, I showed her each one. She seemed to weigh her options briefly before saying she'd take the large can of Similac. As I passed it through the window, she finally smiled...sort of...and said triumphantly, "Now this will last him!"

She turned to put the can into the bag on top of the other 6 bottles I'd originally given her, and I assumed she would then take her leave.

Not so. Instead, she came back to the window and asked, "Do you have another bag I can put this in?"

Hardly believing what I was hearing, I stammered out, "Uh...yeah...I guess so. Hold on and I'll go get you one." Once more I hiked back to the storage room to retrieve this very particular client another bag. The whole way, I was having a very unspiritual conversation with myself. (Honest confessions!) "Another bag?! Why in the world does she need another bag for one can of forumla?! She could simply put that can in the top of the small bag and carry it out, or she could just carry the can in her extra hand. Extra bag indeed! She is taking for granted our free services and supplies, thinking she can just waltz in here and get whatever she asks. She hasn't even bothered to say thank you!"

It was at this point in my mental dialogue that the Lord interrupted my thoughts. As I rounded the corner of the hallway heading back to my desk and the waiting client, He gently said to me, "Katrina, this is just a small taste of what I get to experience being God. Do you know how many people take for granted the blessings I shower into their lives, not even bothering to stop and tell me thank you? People are constantly take advantage of my character, asking for more things all the time, but hardly ever showing gratitude for what I've already given them."

He didn't even say it, but I knew I fell into this category too, all too often. As I winced with conviction and suddenly felt very sorry for the grief I'd brought to my Lord, He gave me a boost of compassion for my client.

As I handed her the bag with a smile and an attempt at cheerfulness, she smiled fully for the first time and thanked me.

I thought about her visit all the rest of the day and what God had taught me through it. I decided that for the next week, I would make it a priority to spend time simply praising and thanking the Lord for His many gifts, rather than pouring forth a multitude of requests before His throne each morning. I called the idea "7 Days of Praise."

As the week progressed, I found it incredibly refreshing to simply focus on gratefulness to God! I loved the opportunity to pull out my journal each morning and write out a letter of praise to His name, rather than feeling pressured to get through a long prayer list. It was a wonderful week of worship and drawing closer to Jesus.

Of course, I didn't treat my personal, 7-day challenge in a strict manner such that I never asked the Lord for anything all week. There were many, many times when I'd catch myself praying for people or situations throughout the day, especially while working at the pregnancy center. It was encouraging to see how prayer has become such a habit of my life that I do it without planning to! However, I constantly worked at noticing the gifts He bestowed throughout each day and thanking Him. Gifts like getting out of bed in the morning free of pain, being able to walk, talk, see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. Gifts like my family, my home, my country, my abilities, my job, and the list goes on!

The "7 Days of Praise" challenge I gave myself is now over. I am back to spending quality time interceding for others and making requests of my God. It's been amazine to see how those 7 days of praise have caused my focus to get re-aligned where it always needs to be: on the Giver rather than the gifts.

Of course, God wants us to pray! He tells us to ask that we may receive. But I write this post today as a reminder that He doesn't want us to get so caught up with asking that we take for granted His blessings and take advantage of His goodness. His Word admonishes us to let our requests be made known unto God with thanksgiving! (Philippians 4:6)

I encourage you to join with me in an effort to live in a constant state of gratefulness to the Lord, taking time all throughout the day to thank Him for Who He is and all He does.

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30