It's A Choice

You know how you just have "those days?" You find yourself telling your friend, "Yep, it's one of those days." Well, it has definitely been one of those days; one of those weeks really. One of those where everything doesn't go right & your attitude is following suite.

We're on Day 4 with no water. It comes on for a little bit at night & fills the tank up enough to do dishes in the morning & flush toilets. Then, it's gone. The power has gone out everyday this week for up to 9 hours at a time. It's super hot & I feel sticky, tired, & pretty much defeated. As we sit & try to do school without a breath of air & the kids have just as much energy as ever, I feel crabby & I just want to go crawl in a dark, cool hole.

As I find myself ranting to my poor husband about my woes, (like he can do something about it), I realize something. My vocabulary is full of two little words. "I feel." Feeling are real. Feelings tell us things. Feelings are powerful. But feelings are not always the truth.

Yesterday, I put on a bracelet of mine & had I remembered what it said on it, I probably wouldn't have put it on. I glanced down & read. "Blessed. I choose joyful gratitude. I choose quiet strength. I choose love, love, love." The Lord gave me a will. And He gave me the power to choose right.

Practically speaking, sometimes I don't know how to do this. It's easy to say, "I'll choose joy." But how do I do that?

For me, it starts in my mind. Where am I focusing? I am dwelling on the things that aren't going the way I want. I am allowing circumstances to dictate my attitude.
"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." -Philippians 4:8

Choosing to not let complaining words come out of my mouth. I can choose to praise instead. "Thank you, Lord, that I have water at all." Besides, little ears are always listening. And their attitude often follows mine.

I feel defeated. But I choose His victory. I feel tired. But I choose His strength. I feel crabby. But I choose His joy. I choose His love.

Learning to choose-
Candy






Comments

  1. DanielApril 27, 2013 at 9:44 PM

    Hey Candy, I enjoyed reading your post and I while I don't have to worry about water, I can really sympathize with that constant need to choose to see life from the right perspective of gratitude. Even those of us that DO have running water are ungrateful from time to time . . .

    What I really wanted to say though, is, NICE BLING! :) Tell Josh I said hello!

    -Daniel Wayne

    ReplyDelete

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