Humbly Grateful

February 19, 2024

This evening we bid farewell to one of Sinclairville’s saints. ZoAnn Shields was a pillar of Park church, matriarch of her family, and lover of little children. She rocked, sung to, and prayed over entire generations of infants and toddlers in the church’s nursery. I’ve known Zoe for more than forty years, watched her raise her children, love little tykes, and struggle with her health. 

I learned something from (not about…from) Zoe tonight, a quote that bears repeating. “We can be grumbly hateful or gratefully humble.” The rearrangement of just a few letters makes all the difference. Simple. Memorable. Applicable. 

It’s not just the rearrangement of letters, though. Hateful to grateful and grumbly to humbly requires a rearrangement of priorities, a complete change of heart the likes of which only come through a faith in Jesus Christ…similar to Zoe’s. 

So which will it be? Grumbly hateful or humbly grateful? Choose wisely. Choose Jesus.