Sunday, November 28, 2010

A lesson from pretzel goldfish



A couple weeks ago, on a grocery store whim, I picked up a bag of pretzel goldfish for my 3-year-old. In McKenna's eyes, this is possibly the smartest thing I've ever done.

She loves them so much, they've become her most requested snack, replacing fruit snacks and cocoa almonds. When we're out shopping, I toss a Ziploc bag of them in my purse as a potential reward for good behavior.

Yesterday at Costco, she devoured her bag of goldfish as my husband and I jetted up and down the aisles. As we buzzed toward check-out, McKenna held up one of the remaining few goldfish to my husband and said, "Daddy, would you like one?"

My first thought was, "What a sweet, generous girl we've raised!"

And then I thought, "But of course she doesn't yet grasp that there's a finite amount of pretzel goldfish. Even if she ran out, she'd just say, 'That means it's time to go to the store.'"

And that's when I started thinking about my own generosity and how I tend to hoard what's precious to me. From little things like the frappuccinos in my refrigerator, to bigger things like my free time, or even money.

I hope I can grow to be more like my preschooler in such things. Because everything I have really belongs to my Father, and He has infinite resources. He's in charge of all creation.

If I offered my brother-in-law a frappuccino next time he came over - instead of saying, "You're welcome to anything except my frappuccinos" - I'm guessing it would all even out somehow. (Actually, as I typed that, I remembered that my brother-in-law bought me coffee on Friday night, so I actually owe him....)

It's scary to give like that - like there's an abundance of replenishments - which is why I shy away from doing it. Every time I prepare a baggie of pretzel goldfish for my daughter, I'm going to pray that God will give me more opportunities to be generous with people, and thereby increase my faith in Him to provide. And my boldness to say, "All out, God. It's time to go to the store."

Stephanie Morrill is a twenty-something living in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband and two kids. Her only talents are reading, writing, and drinking coffee, so career options were somewhat limited. Fortunately, she discovered a passion for young adult novels a few years ago and has been writing them ever since. Stephanie is the author of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series and is currently working on other young adult projects. To check out her blog and read samples of her books, check out www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com and www.GoTeenWriters.com.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a nice lesson for the Thanksgiving time. (and any other time)

Jodie said...

Wow. I love the way your mind works! And that was definitely a little prick of conviction I felt. Never thought of sacrificial giving in quite that way before...

Stephanie Morrill said...

Thank you!

And I never cease to be amazed by how my preschooler's actions can convict me!

RAVEministries said...

This is a great example of the ways God can reveal of toughest qualities about ourselves in life. Thinking about this makes me realize that without God we have absolutely NOTHING. We need to honor God and praise him for the things that we do have. God calls us to have a generous heart instead of having generosity with strings attached!

Julie Garmon said...

Great words, Steph. Loved this! Sometimes I still want to hide my gum in my purse. :-) Among other things I don't want to share.

Stephanie Morrill said...

I like that, "God calls us to have a generous heart instead of having generosity with strings attached." Nobody likes accepting something with strings!

Julie, I'm the same way! Especially when it's the Bubblicious my mom always puts in my stocking.

Julie Garmon said...

ohhh, yeah. I'd definately hide the Bubblicious!!