The Negativity Trap

                                                  Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.


I heard a voice in the darkness singing
(That was a valiant soul I knew),
And the joy of his song was a wild bird winging
Swift to his mate through a sky of blue.

And his song was of love and all its bringing
And of certain day when the night was through;
I raised my eyes where the hope was springing,
And I think in his heaven God smiled too
(That was a valiant soul I knew).

--J. Stalker.

As I listened to Emily's rampage of all the terrible things that have happened to her throughout her day, I realized she sounded just like me. So negative! She learned it from her mother.

I don't think we realize the impact we make on our children nor the people around us. We just assume we are good. We go to Church. We read the Bible. We haven't killed anyone. Therefore, we must be good. Well, we are not.

Just like the Israelites of the Bible, we complain and complain from sunrise to sundown. It's only natural for others around us to pick up that same negativity we brought in. Birds of a feather do stick together. 

I noticed that whenever I'm in a bad mood, nothing will make me happy. I don't like the weather. This person here irritates me. My lunch tastes awful. Nothing is just right and all I want to do is go home to whine. In fact, nothing will make me happy that day.

Boy, do I have a long, long way to go in bettering myself. God has a way of bringing us down to Earth whenever we begin to think we know it all. Trying to stay humble can become a full time job. I'm okay with that, because I never want to be so full of myself that I become the idol in my own life. God cannot ever be replaced as the main love of my life. I owe  Him way too much to forget that. 

I wish I could tell you that I've become the most positive human being on Earth. I try, but I don't succeed as often as I would like. We are living in a fallen world. I can only try my best to be thankful for all the little things we receive as precious gifts from above on a daily basis. A sweet snack from a friend. A dime laying on the sidewalk. A green light all the way home. A card in the mail. A hot bath after a long day at work.

All small things that may mean nothing to someone else, but to us, such a blessing. A thoughtful reminder of a great love from a great Father. Say thank you once in a while. 

Have a blessed day everyone.