The world now is filled with deep and undeniable hatred and at times it is quite disturbing to me. Honestly, I never imagined a day when someone I knew personally would be filled with such hatred for someone that they would wish that person to be dead.
Friends, is that not disturbing to you? I mean, there are certainly people in my life that rub me the wrong way. Some of them are just downright rude and I think maybe they know they are rude and they just do not care. Maybe they do not know they are rude and rudeness happens to be part of their inherent behavior. Maybe they were not taught to be any different than they are. Or, maybe being rude came about as a coping mechanism for their personal survival in the world where they grew up. I cannot judge others for what they do and do not do. Still, however the rudeness comes about, whenever I interact with people who are rude, I end up feeling shaken by their actions. I end up leaving their presence feeling a little empty. And, it is in these moments that I have to pull myself together. It is in these moments that I have to draw upon strength from outside of myself to keep myself from barking out my innermost thoughts during times of dismay. “Count to 10 before speaking.” That is what my mother taught me to do when I was young and that is my “go to” life tool whenever I feel emotionally overwhelmed to speak my mind during compromising situations. My mom’s advice is very good, and the Bible has more to offer on the subject of keeping our mouths shut in times where we might want to speak more freely than is appropriate.
Sometimes, things hit us hard and in that moment, our first response is to react to what is happening or what we just heard. I am sure everyone can agree that spontaneous reactions are normal. There are many moments when we are caught off guard and unprepared to contain our emotions. For example, coming home early from work and unexpectedly finding your spouse in bed with a co-worker can spark the most unimaginable blaze of emotions; being rear-ended on the freeway can conjure up the most disgraceful emotions; and even something less significant as breaking a nail can strike a nerve that could cause an otherwise tame person to eke out a four-letter word or two. In that embryonic moment, any lessons we learned about composure have likely been forgotten, at least temporarily. And, yes, there are consequences to every action. We become acutely aware of that little fact of life only after our first response to the incident. And, after we are done dealing with the aftermath of our inaugural response, we must now live with the remembrance of the incident, and possibly said response to said incident. Choose To Be Positive Each day brings about a new beginning and we can choose how we want to live in that day. No matter what is going on in the world or in your circumstances, you can choose the emotions you want to live with and display. People who know my life story have asked me how I stay positive in the midst of all the turmoil. I tell them it is not easy and it is not automatic. Each incident brings about new emotions and new things to deal with. However, as I deal with them I make a conscientious choice to be happy or glad through the dealings. The world can be cruel. People can be mean to you for no reason at all. Stuff happens and then all of a sudden you find yourself dealing with something you have no desire to deal with in the least bit, but in order to overcome anything, you must acknowledge it and then you must come to some kind of resolution regarding it. And, mind you, the resolution is not always going to be absolutely appealing to you. Nevertheless, you must resolve issues in order to put them behind you and move on with life. And, friends, I need to bring up the fact that I go to God with everything. It seems like such a simple thing, but to tell you the truth, God is the best elixir in the world. God’s solutions can be found in the words printed in the Bible, which is what I lovingly call my lifestyle guide. Through reading the Bible I learned that the only thing I gain from being angry or sad is misery. Life lessons taught me that the person I direct my anger toward either does not care that I am angry or wants me to be angry. In fact, the angrier I am, the happier the other person is. So, what it boils down to is that the only person I am hurting with my anger is me. Anger can sometimes consume a person to the point that it is debilitating. Do yourself a favor and resolve your issues so you can let go of anger and other negative emotions. Allow yourself to choose, instead, positive emotions like happiness or gladness. Life Lessons I have grown to accept everything that happens to me as a lesson for something I need to learn in my life. I can choose to be sad about something or I can choose to be happy and grateful for the lesson each situation teaches me. The lesson could be something as simple as, “Negative people are a burden in your life.” If someone is not delivering anything positive in my life, I do not need them in my life. And, since I do not want to be a negative person in someone else’s life, I don’t discard people like a used paper towel; instead, I just don’t hang out with them. And, let me make it clear here and now that if you are having trouble with your spouse, I am not advocating divorcing your spouse so that you no longer have to hang out with them. What I do advocate is working out problems to a resolution you can live with. For some couples, this might mean sleeping in separate bedrooms. Now, listen, I am not a marriage counselor, and all I am saying here is that there are solutions to every problem and if staying in the marriage means staying in separate rooms, then that in and of itself is a possible solution. I'm just thinking out loud. I have many opportunities to practice being happy. Like the time my car broke down on the side of the road, I didn’t get angry. After all, there were signs that the car was on its last leg anyway and I probably should have done something about it sooner than later. Lesson learned! But, I can I smile and I can be grateful for the people who were happy to sit with me until the tow truck arrived and who were willing to help me get home. I am blessed! Be Happy Here is what the Bible says about choosing to be happy.
You Are In Good Hands And now friends, I would like to share a biblical scripture that helps me remember that I have a Father (Abba) who takes very good care of me and I need not worry about anything. He is your Father too and it is safe to put your trust in He whose love is forever and in He who sees to it that you live a life of health and happiness. Here is scripture worth remembering. Psalm 37: 4-14 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. 12 The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; 13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. 14 The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.
It's a brand new day! Make it a good one!
Today’s Video: This Is A New Day
Artist: Danny Gokey Licensed to YouTube by: UMG; UNIAO BRASILEIRA DE EDITORAS DE MUSICA - UBEM, ASCAP, Essential Music Publishing, CMRRA, BMI - Broadcast Music Inc., Capitol CMG Publishing, Adorando Publishing, LatinAutor - SonyATV, and 9 Music Rights Societies
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Marlene Bertrand
AuthorI am generally a quiet person, but at times, my thoughts run deep and wild. Most of the time, I keep my thoughts to myself, but sometimes, I feel the need to shout it out! These are just my thoughts and opinions, which may or may not be the same as yours. Archives
January 2021
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