Gratitude

“It’s not fair!” Sara said angrily. “I never get what I want! Are you even listening?” she asked her mother while she was washing the dishes. Her mother sighed. “Sara, you know I’m going to buy you a new dress. What about the one you bought a week ago?” “I already wore that one; I want a new one to wear to the party. Besides, the old one is ugly.” “But you chose that one yourself!” her mother replied. “Why should I wear something old? It’s not fair! All my friends’ parents get them everything they want, and I never get anything!” Sara lamented. Sara’s mother turned towards her. “Sara, I and your father try our best to get you everything to keep you happy. And yet you never think it’s enough. Have you ever thanked God for what you have? Did you ever think that there are some people in this world who can’t even afford eat three times a day? You should think about them and try to help them, not whine about the things you don’t have.” “But….” “Let me tell you a story. Once there was a man who had all the money in the world, and yet he wanted more. He never stopped to help the poor and needy, and he was never grateful to God for what God had given him. God does not like selfish acts, so he deprived the man of all the money he had.” “So you see God is the one who gives and He too is the one who takes,” Mother ended the story. But Sara angrily walked out the room, grumbling under her breath. She decided to go for a walk, as she was not in the mood to talk to anybody. While she was walking, she bumped into a girl selling colouring books. “Why don’t you watch …” but she did not complete her sentence as she was surprised at the sight of the girl. She was very young, not older than eight or seven years. She was wearing old and ragged clothes and was barefoot. She looked very untidy and her hair was very messy. “Do you want to buy a colouring book?” the little girl said in a low voice. “Why are you selling things at such a young age?” Sara blurted out. “My father died a few years ago and my mother is too sick to work, I have a little brother but he is just a baby. I work so my family can survive,” the little girl replied timidly. Sara’s became restless after hearing this. She though of all the things she had and this girl had to work so hard to be able to only survive. This is what mother was trying to say to me, she thought. Sara hurriedly checked her pockets and gave the little girl all the money she had. The girl thanked Sara greatly and moved on to look for someone else to buy her things. After this, Sara turned over a new leaf, thankful for everything she had and never demanded more from her parents. She went out of her way to help the poor and needy.