These flowers are beautiful, and I am happy to report that I received them very graciously. However, I have another memory where I did not do well at all. It was almost time for Derek to come home, and I was grumpy. Somehow (and this is odd) I had the feeling that Derek was going to bring me flowers, and I knew that they would be light pink carnations. I grumpily wanted bright colored flowers. Even with this advanced knowledge (or suspicion) of what was coming, I handled Derek's very thoughtful gesture ungraciously.
Derek had taken time out of his day to go to a store and pick up perfectly lovely flowers for me, and when he presented them, I reacted badly. His face fell. My heart sank. I had disappointed him, and myself. I knew then that I didn't deserve those flowers, and that I might never get any again, and I would deserve that too. I apologized, but felt I couldn't really apologize enough.
Thankfully Derek is kind, and before too long he bravely brought me some beautiful red carnations, which I received in a much more gracious fashion. However, I still wish that I had reacted to the lovely pink carnations with the same generosity that Derek showed in giving them. Even if I hadn't felt gracious, but had acted graciously, I would have felt SO much better. I do not believe we will ever regret receiving gifts graciously!
1 comment:
You are so upbeat and blessed because of it. Your example inspires me to try and distinguish between self inflicted misery and mental illness misery.
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