Life as a Christian Woman

I’ve been down in the dumps lately. Nothing spectacular, just what we all go through from time to time. When I’m mired in one of those “Woe is me!” periods of life, it just seems like everything is wrong.

But after reading the wise words of a friend, I realize that when I’m in these doldrums, I’m focused on what is wrong in my life and the world, not what is right. She calls it a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” because we are so plugged into the negative that we only see the negative and end up seeking the negative.

That’s a lot of negative!

My friend went through the eye of the storm a year ago. She was pregnant with three kids under four at home, and was justifiably at her wit’s end. So, she decided it was all her husband’s fault. All of it. Kids, mess, backaches, war, pestilence and famine. Everything he did was wrong. She saw every fault magnified one thousand times over.

And she decided she wanted a divorce. Met with an attorney. Was ready to chuck it all.

A friend told her to wait a week, pray about it, and focus on the good in her life. And every time she saw something good, she had to say “God is Good.”

Then God held an intervention in her heart. He opened her eyes to what had been right in front of her all along. She started noticing that her husband was a pretty good guy, life was pretty swell… even if hectic and demanding. She noticed more of the good and the bad faded. And she said quite a lot of “God is Good’s.”

An amazing thing happened. By the end of the week, she was so focused on finding good, she forgot to look for bad. Today she looks back in horror at what “could have been” if she had gone through with the divorce. Her marriage isn’t just strong, it’s happy and fulfilling.

So I thought maybe, during these dog days of summer, we might want to do our own “God is Good” list. Instead of hearing the negatives around us, thinking about the heat, work, whatever, name something good in your life. Be specific. Try to name one “God is Good” for each finger on one hand. If you feel brave, go for the second hand.

I’ll start. I hate hot weather, despise it. So for me, #1 on my “God is Good” list is that for every degree over 90 this summer, this winter I will be blessed with an equal number of days of cool weather… maybe even cold. I even went so far as to put a picture of snow on my computer. Cheers me right up.

Now this little list won’t save the world, cure all your ills, turn you into instant Sally Sunshine.

But it just might make the day a little easier to bear.