I have a lot to complain about. At any given time I could list off so many things in my life that aren’t quite how I would like for them to be. Some days are harder than others to stay positive, but I’ve learned that oftentimes just a little change in my perspective on things can make a bad day better a good one!
Below, in italics, are some things that would be really easy for me to complain about right now in bold I’m writing how I choose to look at it and find joy in the things that bother me.
I’m so tired of going up 2 flights of stairs to get to my home! vs. I’m thankful to have a nice place to live where I don’t have to fear for the safety of my family
I wish we had a bigger home with a room for the baby (she’s in the living room right now) vs. I’m thankful that baby sleeps so deeply that it (usually) doesn’t wake her when she’s sleeping in the living room and we are all still awake and talking.
The laundry is never ending! I can never be “done” with it vs. The laundry never ends, just like my love for the people in my home who dirty all the clothes! (cheesy, but it really helps for me to think about it that way!)
I never get any time alone/to myself! vs. I’m never lonely because the ones I love most are always around me.
Hubby forgot to put his dirty clothes in the hamper! vs. So thankful my hubby works hard & gets so dirty to provide for us.
I hate nursing! I wish I didn’t have to! vs. I’m so glad I’m able to nurse my babies so that we don’t have to break our budget to buy formula.
I miss my hubby, I wish he was home more vs. I’m so thankful that God provided my hubby a job with good hours so that we’re financially stable enough for me to stay home with the kids while he works.
Little Man is SO loud! vs. I’m thankful my son is a confident little boy that’s not afraid of having fun.
This way of thinking works and helps me A LOT. But, there are some things that don’t have a positive side. There is not always a silver lining . Sometimes you just have to trust in God, looking to His grace and faithfulness even when you don’t understand. For me, there is no visible “up side” of my dad’s death when I was 14. I’ve yet to find a silver lining in the years of abuse I endured as a teen. But that’s okay. God is stronger than my bad days. He’s given me strength and healing through out the many hard times in my life, just a few of which are listed as examples here.
God gives peace and joy when those things don’t make sense. MOST things have a positive side if you stop and look. And for the things that don’t, God’s faithfulness shines brighter than any dark cloud of hurt that we could ever experience.
What about you? How could a changed perspective make the difference between a good day and a bad day for you?
Thanks for that sweet reminder!
You’re right: God is stronger than anything we can find to worry, be anxious, be frustrated, be upset, or complain about…
Here’s the silver lining, Paula, for your dad’s death and the abuse:
“3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:3-5
Sin and sin’s effects are never easy or repaid fully during our lifetime, but:
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Rom 8:28 and “consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” Rom 8:18.
And Christ’s sacrificial death and substitutionary atonement have fully redeemed ALL of creation and EVERY effect of sin, even though we don’t see the full result of that yet. (Rom 8:20-22)
What a mighty God we serve!
That is great! I need some perspective today.
True. When you really think about problems, they’re not such a problem at all. Keep it positive. You ca conquer the world with it.
I know what you mean!
When I was young I read “Pollyanna”….IF I remember, when I’m having a bad day, I try to think like her too!
(…..sadly I don’t always remember to do so!)
You’re right. The attitude of gratitude instead of a badittude changes everything. As Chuck Swindoll is famous for saying, “attitude is often the only thing we can change about our circumstances, and yet it’s the most powerful.” Glad I stopped by. Visiting from Hungry for God.
Yes! This is a wonderful exercise that we all need to participate in more often. Sometimes we feel like it’s cheesy to do this, but it’s not. It’s speaking truth into our lives and helps us see the reality of how good God really is, if we’ll take the time to look past the surface annoyances. May God continue to bless you and your family with his riches.
Loved this Paula I too have a lot to complain about but when I stop to think and praise God for all He has given me my whole outlook changes.
Paula–you have a lot to thank God for, is what I hear. Thanks for sharing this insightful post. Big smile.
Very nice. Thanks for the break in my thinking.
Thank you for putting things into perspective. There is always so much to be thankful for, sometimes we just need to adjust our focus so we can clearly see it.
Blessings~
Shari
I really enjoyed your post! Sometimes perspective is everything! It can definitely make a huge difference in our attitudes and our hearts, especially as we mother our little ones. :)
As a fellow abuse survivor and believer, I was touched by your expression of faith that even when we don’t understand the whys behind things, God still loves us. I am lucky enough that God has allowed me to see the silver lining of my abuse for quite awhile, and it is a very odd thing to have a silver lining in. :) For me, the things I’ve been through have made me not only strong, but have developed in me the ability to understand the hardships of other people. There’s more than just empathy in that, it’s the ability to say to someone who’s hurting, I’ve walked these steps, there is light coming!! and be able to say it in a way that they can hear at that moment. Another weird silver lining from mine is that as I have worked through the hurt and the habits that come from those years of my life, I have gained a huge amount of self-confidence as well as confidence in the Holy Spirit’s ability to heal us.
I’m writing this out, because I read your open letter to new moms right before this post, and it seems that you may have a little of that understanding too. (Maybe a lot more than a little.) I know that when God uses this part of me to help someone else, I feel so much joy in my heart, because I find it so amazing that God can turn even a terrible, terrible thing into something beautiful that furthers His kingdom.
With all of my imperfections and all the imperfections present in the world around us, I find it so comforting that God can take the most vile, wicked sins and the most vile, wicked people and use them to make the world a better place in one way or another. :) I think it’s awesome that you see things that way too.