What Can You Celebrate?

That is a question that turned my life upside down. I would have considered myself a pretty positive person most of my life. I love good things. I tend to think about good things. I look for the best in others. That had been my outlook until about five years ago. Somehow, I fell into a gloom and doom cycle. I can't really describe how it happened. I can't really tell you exactly when it happened. All I know is that I wound up in a bad mental and emotional state. There is no doubt that negative communication from others was a contributing factor. That is true, but I cannot blame others. There were, as there always is, some negative circumstances to deal with. However, I cannot blame the circumstances of life either. The problem I had, and I had it for more than a few days, was my perspective. I was choosing to spend far too much time dwelling on the negative forces in my life. The funny thing about it was I did not even realize how tainted my viewpoint had become until a friend of mine asked me the question "what in your life can you celebrate right now?" It was like a switch was flipped and light sprang from the darkness. The few negative things, that were being fed to me by negative people, began to shrink. I thought about the wonderful family God has blessed me with. I thought about the great privilege I have to exercise my calling and to actually get paid for doing it. I thought about the beautiful place God has allowed me to live. I thought about my health. I thought about the stability I enjoy in these unstable times. I thought about the tremendous salvation that I have from Jesus Christ. I determined from that day on that I would occasionally ask myself that question. It always puts a smile on my face. I hope you will take the time to count your blessings. It may amaze you when you consider all the good things that are happening while you are magnifying the bad.

Work It Out!