Attitude Adjustments

Oh what a beautiful morning!  Wait, isn't that a song from Oklahoma?  This is North Carolina, but it is truly a beautiful morning.  It's the kind of morning when you want to go outside, hold your hands toward heaven and say, "This is the day that the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it!" 

The "squirrel" temperature gauge on the patio door says 84 degrees.  But, you know, after near 100 degree days for the past two months, it feels downright cool outside.  I love, love, love it!  This is the kind of day I've been waiting for since I retired. 

A soft breeze is blowing.  The birds are happily singing.  The sweetest big, black dog in the world is snoozing at my feet.  The clothes hamper is "almost" empty and the drier is humming and clicking away in the background.  God is good! 

I've discovered a truth after many years on this earth.  I choose whether or not to rejoice and be glad in my days.  When we look for the bad, we won't be disappointed.  We will most definitely find it.  Thankfully, the converse is true as well.  When we consciously look for good, we can find it, too. 

I could have started my day with:  Why is that bird chirping outside the window?  It's annoying, and I need just thirty more minutes of sleep...My goodness, can you believe it's only 10:15 and it's already 84 degrees outside?  Will these hot summer days never end?  I can't believe it, I just washed clothes yesterday, and the hamper is full again!  I need a new drier!  This one is way too noisy and takes forever to dry clothes...Dog, will you PLEASE get out from under my feet!  You eat like a horse, and I am getting tired of vacuuming your black hair from the carpet!  Need I go on?

See what a difference our attitude makes when we look at life around us?   Maybe today you need an attitude adjustment.  We all do at times.  When our lives are controlled by our emotions, surroundings, and circumstances, we will always end up feeling anxious, discontented, and unfulfilled.  But a balanced life is a spirit-controlled life, giving us the remarkable ability to have peace and contentment in the bad times and in the good. 

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."  

Philippians 4:11-13


Copyright 2011 Charlotte Laney