The day had not been especially pleasant for 7-year-old Jonathan.LOOKING FOR NICE
Author Unknown
Then there was the incident at the school playground - a run in with a
bully two years older and a lot bigger. And then there was the incident
just before bedtime - a little thing turned into a big thing by an ornery,
over reactive father.
Uh, that would be me.
At the end of the day - unpleasant though it was - Jon and I knelt
together by his bed to say prayers. His voice sounded weary, not just
tired, as he began the usual litany of thanks: "Thank you for my Mom and
Dad," "thank you for my brother and sisters," "thank you for my friends,"
"thank you for our house."
Then he slipped in something new for which to be thankful: "Thank you
for nice."
He paused. "Thank you for nice?" Nice what? Nice family?
Nice
dinner? Nice pants? Or maybe I misunderstood. Since he
doesn't like
potatoes, maybe he was saying "thank you for rice." Or since his
room is
decorated with a Mickey Mouse theme, maybe it was "thank you for mice."
I was beginning to think Jon was just goofing around with his prayers
again, and I was about to scold him when he continued: "Thank you
for not
rude." And then: "Thank you for safe."
Suddenly I understood. Jon wasn't expressing thanks for specific
things because, let's be honest, he didn't have much for which to be
specifically thankful that day. But instead of being thankless, he
was
generally grateful. OK, so maybe the day was pretty miserable for
him -
he was grateful for the general notion of "nice." Although he had at various
times in the day felt threatened and insecure, he was grateful to know
that
there is still such a thing as "safe." And even though several people -
including his father - had been rude to him, he was grateful to know that
"not rude" was a possibility.
I was touched by the sweetness of his prayer. And when we got
off our
knees, I couldn't help but be impressed with the change in his attitude.
He didn't seem to be quite as weary as he was before. In fact, he
seemed
calm. Peaceful. And hopeful for a better day in the morning.
Which, I'm happy to report, it was.
I don't know for sure if his prayer had anything to do with the
improvements in his life the next day. But his attitude certainly
did. He
didn't go to the bus stop with a chip on his shoulder, looking for a chance
to get back at the little girl who had been mean to him. He went
looking
for "nice," and he found it - just like he found "not rude" on the
playground and "safe" at home.