Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:7–15
We humans spend too much time thinking about the past, complaining about the present and fearing the future! –Antoine Rivarol
Wise men and philosophers throughout the ages have disagreed on many things, but most agree on one point: “We become what we think about,” Ralph Waldo Emerson said. “You are what you think about all day long.” The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius put it this way: “Your life is what your thoughts make of it.” In the Bible we read, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”
(Proverbs 23:7).
One Sunday afternoon, a cranky grandfather was visiting his family. As he lay down to take a nap, his grandson decided to have a little fun by putting Limburger cheese on grandfather’s mustache. Soon, grandpa awoke with a snort and charged out of the bedroom saying, “This room stinks.”
Through the house he went, finding every room smelling the same. Desperately he made his way outside only to find that “The whole world stinks!”
This is a silly story, but it sort of illustrates what happens when we fill our minds with
negativism. Everything we experience and everybody we encounter will carry the scent we hold in our mind.
It is quite possible that the challenges of living with an epidemic make it difficult to be thankful and to see what God is doing in our lives. That why —
When we see the same blessings every day, we eventually stop noticing them.
When we stop noticing, we quit appreciating
When we quit appreciating, we stop thanking.
When we stop thanking, we start complaining.
May we all find the grace, patience and love to appreciate God’s presence in our lives.
—Timothy Merrill
Prayer:
O God, help me to see the wonders of your blessings in a new way. Amen.
