Goodness gracious… what does that mean?  And why do I say it when I’m at the boiling point and my whistle is blowing?  Why at that very moment do I choose to say something that denotes only a heaping amount of good?  😉

When I looked up it’s origin all I got was this:

Exclamation of surprise, dismay, or alarm, as in Goodness gracious! You’ve forgotten your ticket. Both goodness and gracious originally alluded to the good (or grace) of God, but these colloquial expressions, which date from the 1700s, are not considered either vulgar or blasphemous. (posted by yourdictionary.com)

Now I also found a very cool excerpt from a sermon that gave me a little more to chew on:

Etymologists tell us that when the word “Goodness” is used as an interjection it is often a euphemism for the word “God.” For example, “Thank goodness!” is a non-offensive way of saying “Thank God!” So my mother’s “Goodness gracious” was her way of saying, “Gracious God!” When she was pleasantly surprised, she was saying “Gracious God!” [INFLECTED] or “God is gracious!” And when she was alarmed or dismayed, she was saying, “Gracious God!” [INFLECTED], which was sort of like the more contemporary expression, “Good God!” [INFLECTED].

Goodness Gracious!
© by the Reverend Dr. Byron E. Shafer
A sermon preached at the Rutgers Presbyterian Church
on September 22, 2002, the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A; Native American Sunday
Scripture Lessons:  Exodus 16:1-5, 13-18 (OT, pp. 69, 70);   Matthew 20:1-15 (NT, p. 22)   www.rutgerschurch.com

So, what is my point?  Well, for whatever reason one of my children (won’t name who but you know, I have only two) either woke up and proceeded to drink MONSTER ENERGY drinks all day (no he didn’t just saying…) or it could be that may I woke up with a shorter fuse than normal??  (insert your own opinion here…)  At any rate that is where I am right now – done.

I find it appropriate that God has me exclaiming praise to Him when He knows what I need is His GRACE.  Clever. 😉

Blessings

Shannon