All things considered, we have it pretty good.
Sometimes, we can easily get balled up in our own problems that we fail to recognize that there are many, many people who are struggling with much bigger issues and concerns.
Over the past month, I’ve been talking with a good friend just about every morning. He has a long commute, and I get up really early.
Generally, we talk about spiritual things and what’s going on in our lives. Although we try to keep it pretty light, we can easily drift off into complaining about this or that, and end up focusing on the negative aspects of our lives. When this happens, we depend on the other person to change things around. In fact, such a change was needed in our conversation this morning.
My friend was talking about how hard it is to make his commute each day, especially during these dark days of winter. He’s just worn out from driving, and I don’t blame him. I couldn’t do what he does each day and remain sane.
After listening to him, I told him about two conversations I had over the past few days. On Sunday, I met a man who had been laid off back in April of last year. He has tried to find work, and he has had no luck. Reduced to being a handyman, he gave me a stack of flyers with the hope that I might pass them out at work. He has a wife and young son to support.
Last night I led an adult education program at my church. When it came time for table discussion, I sat down next to a lady who was telling the group about her situation. She had been laid off the previous week. Her husband had been lost three jobs in the last ten years. Despite this, she was so positive and upbeat. She told the group that she had full trust in God, and that He had a plan for her and her family.
As I listened to her, I remembered the man I spoke to on Sunday said the same thing. I thought to myself, why can’t I have that same level of trust? Why can’t I be more grateful for all the gifts God has given me, including my job? Why is it so easy to focus on the negative aspects of our lives, instead of the positive?
Friends, all things considered, we have it pretty good, even if we’re in the midst of a pretty bad situation. There are many people who long to have what we have.
Today, try and give God thanks for some the blessings in your life, including our jobs, difficult as they may be.
I’m sure you could create quite a list of blessings if you focused on them. Give it a try 🙂
Yesterday, I jumped on-line and took a look at my home town newspaper, the Glendale Newspress. This quote (full article) came from a 92-year-old shopkeeper in town, who keeps working because, according to her, she needs to keep her cat fed. Of course, that’s not the real reason, but this lady clearly loves her life, and tries to brighten the lives of her customers, some of whom have been coming to her boutique since 1966.
“Attitude and gratitude are very important in this world,” she said, adding, “I used to say, you might be handed a cactus, but you don’t have to sit on it. You’ve got to get up and do something about it.” Fiona Bayliss
