And on the bright side….

Our Graham started preschool a few weeks ago. I know. Slow down clock…please…He is in a small class and of all things there are two Grahams.

Rachel texted me the second week that it was a big day: he would have the show and tell, be the leader and take the snack. Of course, I had to know, and if you are curious as well, he took a brontosaurus (which we learned is not the actual name, but thanks to the Flintstone’s it is to us) and Nutrigrain bars.

I waited anxiously for the end ‘o day report. All had gone well except “the other Graham” does not like Nutrigrain bars. This was incomprehensible to our Graham. I mean, they share the same name….what gives?

Two days later, was my Thursday with the boys. As we played with Graham’s collection of miniature animals, I held up the bront….er….I mean, apatosaurus and asked if this had been his show and tell.

Somber eyes, that seem strikingly like my own sometimes, turned to me and nodded and then the disclosure, “The other Graham doesn’t like Nutrigrain bars.”

I nodded sympathetically, counseling myself against the foolishness of carrying an eternal grudge against a three year old child I have never met simply based on his food preferences….however skewed and wrong they might be…..(even though I, myself, do not particularly care for said bars….)

Later as I mulled over the first taste of public rejection for our little guy, it occurred to me that only one out of 8 kids didn’t like the snack. The whole day had been a success – no time out, the dinosaur was a hit, and the vast majority of kids, including the one who brought it, had a great snack time. But that one negative comment…

I can relate and I am sure you can as well. As we head to bed, it’s the one slam, the one snide remark, the one difficult customer, the one disagreement that can loom over the whole picture of an otherwise successful day.

My senior year in high school, (and yes, the dinosaurs were gone by then) I was voted to be the marching band’s sponsor; an old southern custom for a non-band member to represent the student body. My friends rushed down the hall to tell me they had nominated me and I won almost unanimously, all but one vote. Like Graham, all these years later, it is still bugging me wondering who that one person was….sigh…

As I desire for our grandson to be one who focuses on the positive, I see it is time to do some readjustment in my own thinking! How about you? Is there a negative minority out there that is sapping all the joy out of all the good stuff God is doing in your life? If so, join me in thinking on those good things and developing a heart of gratitude for them.

Lesson over. Now go have your snack and have a great day!