What Do You See?

What Do You See?
July 24th, 2008
I have learned an interesting thing in my life. Many things are good or bad depending on who is doing the looking. I am not talking about sin. I realize there are some who want to debate what is sin and what is not, but really that is just words. Even a person who has had no contact with the Bible has deep in them the ability to know right from wrong at its most basic level. This post is not about sin.

I am speaking of something different here. I am speaking of life experiences. Is your glass half empty or half full? At noon is the day half over, or only half over? Is that rain a welcome friend or the end to your plans? When your life moves on to the next phase is the end or the beginning?

I have found the answer depends on where your heart is. You have a choice in this life. You cannot always control what falls in your lap, but you, and you alone, get to decide how to look at it. You can look for the good, or you can wallow in the bad. It really is your choice. Some people seem to have a natural bent to see the good. I feel everyone can learn that trait though.

The Bible tells us we are to be looking forward to the prize. I think forward here has a double meaning. It means both happy anticipation and to actually be looking beyond where we are, to where we are headed! We are to be expecting the good at the end. No matter how hard the race you are running, look for the prize at the end! Each step is not to be fought,but welcomed. Each step, no matter how hard or slow, is moving you forward to the prize.

We have all heard , “When life hands you lemons make lemonaid”. It is a cute saying, but it is also the way happy people live life. They don’t sit and cry over the sour parts of life. They add sweetness to it and make something wonderful out of it.

”But my situation is different”, you say. Maybe. Maybe not. Life has some dark sides. Horrible things do happen, and no amount of sugar can sweeten them. What about those things? You may have things in your life that are too tragic to make sweet, but you can still make something worthy from them. I want you to think about John Walsh. Most of you will know him from the TV show America’s Most Wanted. John’s young son was kidnapped and killed. It was evil in it’s purest form. Yet John has used the pain of that to help others. He took that experience and found the only good to be found- that he could help others. He made it his lifes work to solve crimes, to put the criminals behind bars, so they could not hurt anyone else. John found the good. He made the bad into good for others.

Did it bring his son back? No. But Johns work brings honor to his son’s memory. If you have faced tragity, look for the good. You may be able to help someone else who is facing what you faced. You might find that God can use your life to ease the lives of others. Look for the good. Make your life count in the lives of others. Make a difference.

What if your troubles are the size of lemons? Squeeze them. Add some sugar and find a thirsty soul to share lemonaid with! Hugs, Barbara