View 1
Do you see the wonder of creation in everything?
Do you seek to see Christ in everyone?
Do you offer praise and thanksgiving to God?
View 2
Do you complain about your lot in life and wallow in self-pity?
Do you only see faults in others?
Do you continually bring your "wish list" to God in the form of prayer?
The other morning I heard a brief meditation on the radio, in summary, it was a story aboutf a woman who stood before Jesus and asked, "I want my life to make a difference", Jesus replied, "I don't give fruit, only seeds". The message is that each of us are given all that we need from God, but it is up to us how we choose to use those gifts. We can do nothing, and bear no fruit, or we can use our gifts and bear much fruit. As the Gospel tells us, we reap what we sow.
As Christians we should be JOYFUL, not a fake happiness, but a JOY infused in our soul because we know the Love and Mercy of God and we see God working in all aspects of our life. We are JOYFUL because we know God is with us!
We all know people who have faced tought situations in life, some remain joyful throughout, and others wallow in self-pity. When my mother-in-law was dying of cancer, she never talked about her pain, she never complained, she always had a smile on her face, and she spent a lot of time in prayer - when the end was near she said she was ready to go. My father-in-law lovingly took care of Sharon, went with her to all of her treatments, sat with her when she needed him, and never complained and lovingly took care of everything. My in-laws were truly an inspiration and an example of coping with a difficult situation with grace and dignity.
On the flip side are those who always take a "woe is me" attitude to everything that happens to them in life, these people tend to use absolutes in the way they talk about their life - such as, I never, I always. A lot of time is wasted comparing what they perceive that they don't have compared to others, such as, "I never get to go on vacation, everyone else does", when you hear a person speak like this it sounds childish. This "woe is me" attitude is really a way for a person to avoid responsiblity for their situation - they choose to see only what they can't do and choose to never see what they can do. We must use the talents God has blessed us with and bloom where we are planted.
How are you going to use the gifts you are blessed with today?
1 comment:
I agree with you, we need to ponder on our blessings thats for sure but we are human and its human to wish for better when things go the wrong way and its ok to be angry and verbalize it when one is ill or going through a rough time I believe. Thats what friends are for, to pat us on the back and cheer us up. In this world I agree our lives are what we make of them. By the way I never get to go on vacation..lol!
but I look forward to the future even though it may take years of taking care of other things, I look forward to that future vacation we will take hopefully just down to the beach for a couple of days next summer. There is no sin in feeling sadness, anger, etc..but jealousy is a sin which I an many others struggle with and again, thats what friends and family are for, to make us see whats right. Thanks for this inspired post I enjoyed it!
God bless
Amy
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