Whiner

When I was little, I whined a LOT. I remember when I was about five or six, and my dad was admonishing me for whining about something. "Stop using a whiny tone of voice!" he said.

And I replied (in my whiniest voice): "But I don't even know what whining SOUNDS like!!"

via

As an adult, I still whine... but to myself. I've been feeling convicted of this lately in reading the book of Numbers. In chapter 11 it describes how the Israelites complained about the Lord's daily providence of manna to eat. They regretted ever having left Egypt (their place of slavery) because at least they had had meat to eat there. They wept at the entrance of their tents about the manna.

It's easy to read a story like this and shake my head at them. Those Israelites! Didn't they see that the Lord was taking care of them and providing for their needs? Couldn't they be grateful? What babies! They totally deserved that plague that God sent them as a result!

And then I turn around and have the same attitude about work. I have a lot I could complain about and rail against God about. Like how I have twice the students as my colleagues. Like how THIRTY percent of my students have major behavior issues. Like how I don't have a teacher assistant in the mornings like my colleagues do. And on, and on. 

Sometimes it's easy to think "poor me!" But in reality, this is my manna. This is what God has given me to pay the bills and help my husband get through his PhD. 

And when I think about feeling sorry for myself that I'll have to go back to teaching for at least one more year after the baby comes, I need to remember this life lesson from Numbers. I need to be grateful for the blessings He has given me, not resentful!

Linking up with Kelly and Casey today.