What does it take to restart your perspective on life? I think that’s a great question. So many people are facing discouraging circumstances and frustrating situations. I’m one of them, and I would love a simple answer for how to stay positive in difficult times.
Honestly, I’d love to avoid difficult times. I’d love to find a way to skirt around them and not have to go through them at all. But in this broken world, difficulty is normal. And the simple truth is that your circumstances don’t matter but how you look at them does. How you see your circumstances determines whether you just get through them or appreciate them.
Sunrise at Safe Haven Farm, Haven, KS
Today’s verse is Hebrews 12:28.
Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.
I posted yesterday about finding a way to restart, looking for the answer to changing my perspective about life, the universe and everything (42, for you geeks out there). Too often I find myself operating with limitations in my life, mainly because I’m just tired and worn out all the time. But I got to thinking yesterday morning about something I haven’t done in a very long time that might be part of the problem.
I spent my morning being grateful. And not the 30-days-of-thankfulness-on-Facebook brand of grateful. I woke up yesterday morning and got in my car and as I was driving my 45 minutes to work, I thanked God. I thanked God for the beautiful sun that was rising just over the edge of K-96. I thanked God for the frost on the fields that meant maybe my allergies will get better. I thanked God that I had a job, and not just a job but a job with a great company, and not just a job with a great company but a job doing what I love for a great company. Not many people get to say that. I thanked God that my family owns our house and our land. I thanked God that I own my car and that I have enough money in the bank to pay for gasoline and groceries and the occasional 700-page fantasy novel.
Before I was even ten minutes down the road, I was in such a great mood I couldn’t believe I’d been so surly yesterday.
How is it possible that taking ten minutes to be grateful can make such a difference? Can we really just list off the things we’re thankful for and seriously, honestly, openly thank God for those things and immediately be in a better mood?
I’m not promising anything, but it seems to work for me. It helps me stop and slow down and think about all the awesome things I have that I don’t deserve, that I didn’t do anything to obtain, and that God has provided for me because He keeps His promises. It makes me stop thinking about the things that are going wrong or that I don’t want to deal with or the conflicts I’m dreading, and it makes me think about the things I have. And if God can provide me with all of that, He can absolutely help me through the day.
There isn’t enough gratitude in our world. Very few people really express gratitude as often as they should. I know I don’t, and it’s a shame because it makes so much difference, not only to the people around you but also to you.
How does gratitude help you? Well, I think it helps you remember that someone did something for you that they didn’t have to do. Someone else took time out of their day or focus away from their own issues to help you in some way, and they didn’t have to do it. They gave you something. Even if it was just opening the door for you or holding the elevator open for you or letting you walk through the doorway first, that’s kindness demonstrating they are paying attention and wanted to do something nice for someone else.
Don’t let those small acts of kindness slip by without notice. Don’t just assume that people are going to do nice things for you. Pay attention, and you might realize that people show you more kindness than you originally thought.
We all have more than we think we do, and taking the time to thank God for everything in our lives forces us to acknowledge it. So take a moment and say thank you. But if you don’t mean it, if you aren’t really thankful, don’t even open your mouth. This is a heart thing, and if you’re just paying God lip service, it won’t help you at all and it won’t impress Him.
Thank Him for the small things. Thank Him for the big things. Thank Him for the good things, and, yes, thank Him for the bad things. Because if you can seriously, honestly thank God for the bad stuff in your life, that bad stuff won’t seem so difficult to get through. It won’t seem so daunting or frightening or intimidating.
If you want to restart and refresh your perspective, begin with gratitude. It may seem like a small thing, but it changes everything.
Always Peachy 