Encouraging Words July 14, 2013

July 15, 2013

“Change pushes us to get out of ourselves and rely on God.”

   Abe Lincoln once said that people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.  And you know, it’s true, happiness doesn’t just happen. Sometimes you have to really work at it. Sometimes, you just have to make up your mind, make a decision or a choice to be happy because life doesn’t always play fair, give you all the right cards or go your way all the time.

   We just got back from traveling almost 2,000 miles to see daughter, Laura and her hubs.  As I was putting away the five loads of laundry that awesome daughter, Cait, did while I headed right back to work, I thought about how much the change in our lives can affect our moods.

   I miss having her closer, being able to visit physically more often because I am a homebody and I like to have my family close, but if I mope around wishing she was closer to home,  what good does that do her or me?

  Instead I need to be thankful we had the most wonderful time visiting them. We lived adventures while we were out there, going to the ocean, hiking up mountains, playing frenetic outdoor laser tag and those things should all be foremost in my mind.

   The same thing goes for our other two kids. They are growing up, meeting new people, finding jobs or going to schools that may lead them not so nearby either but that is change.  Change can be good if we can look at that way. Change can mean fun, happiness, adventure, memories to make, stories to tell. Change pushes us to get out of ourselves and rely on God.

   It seems to be a tendency for us humans to see the sad, bad or gloomy especially when things change. When family members or friends die, when someone becomes very ill or we lose a job or a child moves out of the house.  Sad change really takes work, a lot of work. There’s no getting around the fact that losing someone is a huge mood changer.

 

    When I read about saints it seems they were always extolled for their ability to be happy during bad times or the way they could bring good out of bad.  I’m not very good at that yet. Change sometimes makes me sad and wish for other days, long ago days or better times.

   But change forces us to choose. Sometimes I don’t choose well.   While I don’t always have control over body chemistry, illness or injury, I can choose to deal with it with a good attitude and even then when I fail I know that at least trying is what counts.

   I encourage you to choose to try to think of change as a positive challenge, even if it is not happy or is painful. It begins with you.  Let’s rise to the challenge together!