![]() Years ago, a friend of mine was going through some major turmoil. His marriage was on the rocks, his work and income were compromised, and other relationships were negatively impacted. He had to quickly find the root cause of why his life seemed to be falling apart around him. He eventually realized much of his dissatisfaction in life was due to how he viewed the world and the people around him. His pessimistic view led to some highly toxic and destructive circumstances. He lacked gratitude for the people and things in his life because he focused on finding and seeking out the imperfections surrounding him. One example he shared had to do with something as ridiculous as a garden hose not being PERFECTLY wrapped back up on the hose holder. As he was working on putting things back together, he came home one day to find the garden hose loosely hanging on the hook in a sloppy way. Many people would never even notice, and if they did notice wouldn’t care, but it drove my friend crazy! Thoughts of how lazy and sloppy his wife or kids were for just leaving the hose in such a pathetic state made his blood boil. But rather than blowing up on his family, he bottled up the rage until he met with his counselor the next day, who told him to say nothing and do nothing about the hose until the hose situation didn’t bother him anymore. For about 3-4 weeks, he would come home every day with the garden hose hanging there like an insolent jerk. It was as if the hose was mocking his hyper-critical attitude and ungrateful way of seeking out the flaws and imperfections around him. He finally reached a point where he was exhausted from being so agitated by the hose and gave up, caring about how sloppy it looked. From there, God began to show him the people attached to the situation. His young children, who were learning how to function in the world. His wife was a stay-at-home mom with the day-in and day-out responsibility of caring for their small army of children. As he saw the situation for what it was, he felt remorse for always seeking the bad in people and things around him. He began cultivating a way of always seeking something good to be grateful for throughout his life. I’m happy to say that from this lesson and others, he restored his marriage and is thriving as a servant to his family and other people as he seeks the good to be grateful for in his life. Maybe you can relate to how my friend always sought the bad or negative things in people and situations. I’ve also been there, and it’s a miserable way of living. There is a Bible verse about this in Amos 5:14, which says, “Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.” When our eyes are open, seeking the good around us, even the most aggravating situations or people can bring us life in some significant way. And best of all... God will be with you when you seek good! Bring in to focus the most frustrating or seemingly negative situation in your life and ask God to show you something good about it or that will come from it. Seek the good to be grateful and know that God is with you! If you are looking for a faith-based community to help you seek the good and be grateful look us up. We're the Beat Church in Round Rock, Texas and all are welcome to join us. |
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