Have You Had Breakfast?

I'm not much of a breakfast eater (though I should be). I have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I try but don't get it down too often. The other day in the hustle and bustle of things my oldest son declared to the world, "I'm going to have me a big ol' bowl of thankfulness."

Taken back I chuckled and asked, "A bowl of what?"

"A big bowl of thankfulness," he said grinning loud and strong.

No one was really sure where that came from or for what reason. Over the next few days, I started to gnaw a bit on those words. They kept coming back to me and as I really thought about what he said I allowed God to settle gently upon me and speak to my heart.

I realized that we often carry our bowls of thankfulness around with us. Taking them in our arms and for all the world to see we raise them to the heavens and shout, "Oh I am thankful! See!" Sometimes to even convince ourselves.

But what my son said resonated with me. To consume, eat, absorb, take in, inhale,  . . . our thankfulness is different. It is one thing to hold on to them for the world to see and to remind ourselves of being thankful and yet another to actually consume thankfulness! When we have allowed the thankfulness to penetrate the deepest part of our souls then something happens. When we can consume every blessing, miracle, glory, beauty, smile, laughter, deliverance, provision, and good deed then something happens. Suddenly thankfulness becomes a part of us - a part of our lives - a part of our journey. We don't have to carry the bowl around with us as a reminder - we are the reminder!  To live a journey filled with thankfulness will be a journey with less stress, less anxiety, less worries, and less pessimism.

Hummmm - maybe breakfast is the best meal of the day? I open the pantry door and know just what I will reach for.