Outside a small town in New Mexico is a sign that reads as follows: “Welcome to Portales, New Mexico, home of 12,493 friendly folks and 8 or 10 grouches.” Isn’t that the way it is everywhere? There are always a few negative folks around to tell you that Murphy’s laws will ruin everything.
I like the story about the little boy who was trying to raise some money by collecting old bottles, going door-to-door in his neighborhood.
When he came to the home of a woman who was the “town grouch,” the little boy asked, “Do you have any Coke bottles?” “No,” she replied with a scowl. Then he said, “Do you have any old whiskey bottles?” “Young man,” the woman replied, “Do I look like the type of person who would have old whiskey bottles?”
The little boy studied her for a moment and then asked, “Well, do you have any old vinegar bottles?”
Isn’t it tragic that some people go through life so negative and sour and bitter? And if you don’t watch out, they will infect you with their thinking.
How can we live positively in this world where much is discouraging? I think I see some clues in one of the miracle stories of the Bible. Jesus once fed 5,000 people with only five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. The disciples saw the negatives but Jesus understood the positive presence of a little food.
Thanks to Bill Bouknight
My Commentary:
There will always be a few “grouches” in every town — and perhaps, on certain days, a little grouchiness in each of us. Life gives us plenty to complain about: illness, disappointment, difficult people, uncertainty, and plans that fall apart.
The danger comes when negativity becomes our way of seeing everything. Eventually, the world begins to taste like vinegar.
The feeding of the multitude offers a wonderful Christian alternative. The disciples looked at thousands of hungry people and saw what they didn’t have. Not enough food. Not enough money. Not enough resources. They saw an impossible problem.
Jesus looked at the same situation and asked, in effect, “What DO we have?”
Five loaves. Two fish. Almost nothing.
But almost nothing placed in the hands of God became more than enough.
That is Christian optimism. It is not pretending that problems don’t exist. Jesus saw the hungry crowd just as clearly as the disciples did. Faith simply refuses to believe that our limitations are the end of the story.
We may have little strength, little money, little time, or little hope. But God does remarkable things with whatever we are willing to place in His hands.
So when life looks half empty, don’t spend all your time counting what is missing.
Count what remains. Thank God for it. Offer it to Him.
Five loaves and two fish may not look like much.
But with God, they can feed a multitude.
I find it amazing how our nation pauses from our wars, our ugly politics and a Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool when Dolly Parton dies. Our country takes too brief a moment to lower its flags to recognize Dolly’s talents, goodness, empathy, a 60-year marriage and a lifetime of personally funding education, medical research and disaster relief.
Dolly Parton has been for 80 years a person who has had morals, has not misled us with her words or her songs, or told us one lie after another. She has spent a lifetime lifting our spirits. America has lost a recognizable Angel of Goodness that it so desperately needs. Each of us and America itself needs to keep looking in the mirror at ourselves as we pray that Dolly Parton rests in peace.
Look at something very small in YOUR life – like an email of encouragement or appreciation – and send it to a family member or a friend a couple of times a week. Find me a person who does not appreciate regular words of encouragement or appreciation. They simply do not exist. Before long you may be sending out more such emails. And they won’t cost you .82 cents!
THE MINUTE YOU STOP TRYING TO CONTROL EVERYTHING IS THE MINUTE GOD WILL LEAD YOU DOWN THE RIGHT PATH!
“I think your book would be helpful in all middle schools and should be on the required reading list. There would be dinner table discussions between generations.” I got these comments from a woman who just read my new book – WHAT MAKES AMERICA AMERICA.
I have 62 short Chapters that look at every aspect of life in America, from Pets to Caring for the Less Fortunate. Here is the link https://a.co/d/00Lyqe1C that will connect you with my Amazon page. Click READ SAMPLE and you can read the first few Chapters of my book for FREE. It’s a great way to celebrate America’s 250th Birthday!
