Spoiled Brat
On Saturday, after driving for three hours in what could have been deemed a monsoon, passing four wrecks and reading three chapters of John, Jason and I arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina. My parents arrived just before we did. I should have been ever so grateful that they drove two hours just to take us to dinner before we went to see James Taylor. However, I was quite disappointed to find that my parents were waiting for us at Razzols, the only restaurant which Jason had told me he didn't want to eat. Of course, being the wonderful girlfriend that I am, I always want him to be more than happy. So, the fact that he told me to "just be agreeable" didn't change my mood at all. I mean, it was for his sake, of course, that I was upset in the first place. After sitting down for about 15 minutes, halfway trying to convince my my parents to go to another restaurant (if I really wanted to, we could have gone elsewhere), and staring at the unappealing menu, I reluctantly agreed to split something with my mom (if the food was going to be bad, I didn't want to eat a lot of it). Well, my food turned out to be fine (and at least Jason said his was good) so I felt badly for being a brat at the beginning of the evening and apologized to my parents as my dad paid the bill.
When we left the restaurant, we went to the parking lot to get some rain gear my parents had brought to us for the concert. My brother had borrowed and sent my big hiking pack back with my parents. I went to lift it out of the trunk and noticed it was heavier than usual. When I looked inside, I found a brand new, super-thin laptop, complete with wireless internet. I was so surprised and thankful. It was like Christmas without the anticipation. They knew that I wanted one for my trip to Australia in order to better communicate with family and friends (and keep my loyal blog readers up to date of course). One of the coolest parts about the laptop is that there is a world map on the desktop with current times for all timezones. So, I will always know what time it is in the States, no matter where I am. But wait - that's not all...in the front of the pack, I found a check with a significant contribution for my trip. They also brought the best fresh baked, homemade chocolate chip/walnut cookies I have ever tasted, a book on Australia and other fun accessories for the computer.
As we were heading to the concert, I began to reflect on the abundant blessing that my parents have always been in my life. Their gifts, attitudes and actions on Saturday day reminded me so much of Christ. No matter how bratty we may be at times, He never ceases to stop loving us. As Chris Tomlin put it, "He sees the depths of our hearts and He loves us the same." Praise the Lord.
Jason told me that I can be kind of bratty around my family. Maybe it is just because they have always made me feel so special - attending all of my soccer games, providing a wondeful education, taking care of all of my car problems, helping me when I am in financial need, just listening when I need to vent, caring when I am sick, constantly praying for me... I realized on Saturday that, through their overwhelming love, my parents have spoiled me. And I don't mean spoiled like I am ungrateful or anything like that, but I guess that, since I don't see them very often, I have just come to expect to get my way whenever they are involved. Anyways, I needed the check in attitude and am grateful that Jason said something. I am going to work on it and I am sure that with a lot of prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, my attitude will be adjusted. Is there an area in your life where your attitude needs a check?
Originally posted July 31, 2005