Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Bring Light

Today I was running around town doing some errands and I noticed how downtrodden everyone looks.  Not once (other than store clerks who are paid to be pleasant) did I see a smile!  I went to 3 different stores and people were just walking around with these glum looks on their faces.  I take that back…I did get one smile from a precious little boy who was just bursting with happiness.  Literally, that one smile made my day!  So refreshing!

When we turn on the news, it’s nothing but doom and gloom.  I live in a small town and usually there isn’t enough worth reporting on that half the news is just silly things to report on.  Not so much lately…it’s global stories of catastrophe, political unrest, and everything else completely depressing.

Aren’t you ready for something wonderful to happen?  If nothing spectacular is happening in our lives at the moment, it can be difficult to find something to smile about amidst all this sadness.  In reality, we have so much to be thankful for!  If we have our health, we can be grateful for that!  If we have food to eat for the next meal, lets be happy about that!  If we have adequate clothing, another reason to be happy!  Most of us, in America anyway, have what we need and so much more so we really have no good reason to be depressed.  Do you have a safe place to lay your head?  Whether or not it even belongs to you, it doesn’t matter…you can rest knowing you are not in danger.  Another blessing!  If it’s warm, yet another thing to be thankful for!  A child who loves you?  A spouse who loves you?  Enormous blessings!  This is just the tip of the iceberg…we can count our blessings all night long and truly find much to be happy about.

Let’s not be brought down by our worries and fears.  Worrying certainly won’t help us today.

Matt. 6:30 says, “If this is how God clothes grass in the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven — won't he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!  So don't be anxious, asking, 'What will we eat?, What will we drink?' or 'How will we be clothed?'  For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.  But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Don't worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough trouble of it’s own!

Instead, count your blessings and I’m certain that you’ll find you’re abundantly blessed in many ways.  Turn those blessings into a smile to share with someone else.  If you have more to give, share some light with others in different ways…offer to help someone with a need they have -- be it a ride, helping with something around their house, an encouraging word or card, a meal…  When you bless others, it’s amazing how those blessings will multiply back to you and you’ll find your sadness melting away!

So count your blessings today and -- at least -- share a smile!

Open-mouthed smile

You’ll be blessed!

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