Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Bitter or Better? Weathering Life's Circumstances.

Circumstances of life, that is what is on my mind. I am thinking of how each of us is given a life to live. I am thinking of all the choices we make in that life span that bend and shape us….I am thinking of how some of us allow those things to teach us and others allow those things to imprison them. There are those wonderful experiences and then there are those things that come from left field that impact us mightily and sometimes harshly. There are those things that cause us to live our lives filtered through the lens of joy and others that cause us to filter our lives through the lens of pain. Then there are those absolute tragic things that grip us and will not let us go. We have trouble shaking the ugly tentacles off of us. All of us, if we live long enough, will have both the triumphant and the tragic moments. Do we let them define our lives in a positive or negative way? I think one of the biggest differences among people is we let life’s moments define us. Do circumstances teach and change us as a person? Do we allow those moments to guide us in helping another through similar events? Perhaps a root of bitterness and anger is allowed to take root and to sprout taking up permanent residence in our lives. Do circumstances create a deadly poison in our lives like a dark storm cloud will spread to all those around us covering and consuming all it comes into contact? Do we allow things to create a gentle breeze in our lives that will blow across others creating a calming and refreshing encounter? There are two guarantees in life—birth and death. If you are born….then you will die. It is inevitable. I happen to believe that God in in control and has our days already written and when a person is appointed to die……God decides. I love the verse that tells us that as God comforts us so we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble. 2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Recently I am having one of those defining moments of life and I was reminded how we make the choice to get bitter or to get better. I was once again reminded by the kind words of a friend who had already walked through the path that I now have to walk that we can use our life experiences to help another or we can tear down and destroy. I was reminded that bitter gains nothing but pain and heartache but love and kindness go a very long way. Life is a struggle at times, we don’t always get it right, BUT how about we use what we encounter to build our character. How about we use what we go through to make us better. How about we use what we go through to allow us to extend a hand to a fellow human being and give them a hand up now and again. How about we forgive when forgiveness is called for and forget when forgetfulness is needed. How about we use the love that we have been loved with to build bridges instead of allowing bitterness to consume everything around us. 1Pe 3:9-12 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. (10) For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: (11) Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. (12) For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

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