THE MORAL OF THE STORY:Look at the positive side of things

“It’s only when you live above your circumstances, by changing the focus of your life, that serenity and joy can come to you. You see, my friend, when you concentrate on who God is by knowing Him personally, then you will understand His peace and security. He doesn’t always change your situation; what He does is give you new strength and hope so you can face those circumstances and keep on going.”

— SUSAN MILLER

“Cindy, I know that you like to talk about what you are thankful for, and in your column you encouraged people to list what they are thankful for. But I bet you won’t hear many people talk about the things that they aren’t thankful for,” a friend said to me.

I wasn’t quite sure what my friend meant at first, and I imagine you might be wondering if she sounded bitter when she said that, but she wasn’t. Her point was that although we need to thank God for all the ways he blesses us, we also need to be mindful of and thankful for the ways he brings growth and positive results out of things we may view as negative.

She pointed out that she had a friend who was frustrated because she couldn’t shake her cough. She finally went to the doctor and after running tests, he discovered that she had cancer. She then began treatment for a cancer she wasn’t aware she had.

I, too, know people who have similar stories with medical discoveries that came about as a result of an initial irritation.

But after talking with my friend, I realized that we all have examples of the positive side of things we think are negative, if we just stop to think about it.

Then, I received an e-mail, and perhaps some of you did too, that further helped me. The e-mail contains a long quote by an unknown source that challenged me to find the good in things I might complain about.

I’ll give three examples: “I am thankful for the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed;” “I am thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat;” and “I am thankful for the complaints I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech.”

After my discussion and reading the e-mail, I realized that we all have circumstances that we don’t like, but they mean that we are alive and healthy enough to deal with life. What do you complain about, and what could be a positive perspective on your complaints?

For instance, I have certainly complained about traffic, and a positive spin on it would be that I can be thankful, because it means that I have a car. It also means that I live in a place that is desirable enough and filled with enough opportunities that others choose to live and work here too. Many of us face issues that are more difficult than taxes or traffic, but God can give us his peace and joy no matter what the circumstances. When we ask God, he can give us help and hope and a change of focus that magnifies the positive and minimizes the negative.

And you can quote me on that.