Slathering gratitude with a Hallelujah …
Slowly, she walks up the steps of the church. She’s carrying burdens she never imagined she would carry.
No one else can see them. She hides them in her heart.
Before she left the house, she checked her smile in the mirror. She wanted to make sure it would hide the pain her heart was feeling.
She followed her daughter down the aisle of the sanctuary, finding her place in the front row – not her usual place to worship. Perhaps she needed fewer distractions. God knew.
The music started. She wasn’t prepared for the tears to fall. She looked to her left. Her grandson had his hands raised. She looked to her right. Her granddaughter was singing the words not just from her lips but from her heart. She saw the countenance on both their faces. They understood what the words to the music were saying.
So, I’ll throw up my hands and praise you again and again. ‘Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah.
It was the song by Brandon Lake … “Gratitude.”
Photo provided by Janet Hart Leonard
At that moment, she realized she had answers to her prayers on her left and right. Her grandchildren understood what Faith was about. The legacy that their great-grandmother left them was alive and well in their hearts, a legacy of Faith.
Were all their great-grandmother’s prayers answered? No. Yet, she still believed that God was good even without all her prayers being answered. You see, she lived her life with gratitude. She chose to live joyfully because of all God had blessed her with. She gave her burdens to God in her prayers and left them there.
On that Sunday morning, as that grandmother stood, tears began to fall. Tears of gratitude leaked down her cheeks. She, like her mother, would leave her burdens with God.
She would throw up her hands in gratitude … raising a Hallelujah.
Chapter 71 of the Psalms was one of the great-grandmother’s favorite scriptures.
But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. Psalm 71:14
That great-grandmother always had hope. Her daughter would have it as well. As tears fell down her cheeks, she realized hope was in those tears.
So, I’ll raise my hands and praise you again and again. ‘Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah.
When a life is lived with gratitude, that gratitude will slather over all the burdens and in our prayers. Gratitude is a way of life – a beautiful way to live. With our gratitude comes peace.
And so, in that moment, on the front row that Sunday morning, a grandmother smiled. That smile was genuine. It showed a life full of gratitude. Burdens were left with God that morning. There was no pretense in that smile. It was genuine.
When all she had was gratitude, the tears told her it was enough.
So, I’ll throw up my hands and praise you again and again. ‘Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah.
She walked out of that church service with two answers to her prayers. That morning, she was slathered in gratitude, and her smile was genuine. It began with a Hallelujah.
Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). Visit janethartleonard.com.