Misery.....prolonged or extreme suffering...wretchedness.........affliction.....deprivation. Can you imagine that you have a choice about misery? Is it truly an option? There is a wonderful, funny author named Barbara Johnson who wrote a book called: Pain is inevitable, but Misery is Optional. So Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy! What a wonderful option!!!
We can CHOOSE to be miserable, unhappy, feel like we are inferior or inadequate, OR we can choose NOT to be so! I know sometimes in this life there are many sorrowful, agonizing events that can bring us to our knees, but when we choose to dwell on the negative or the suffering - we can create woe and anguish for ourselves. Yes, sometimes we do have to go through a season of grief or anguish, but there is joy around the corner as we do have a choice to be miserable or not! And, we have a choice to be happy........joyful........to have a positive outlook even on the most devastating events of our lives. We can choose to look up and see that we have a God who loves us and cares for us beyond measure. We have a God who provides for our every need. Not some, not part, not most, but all. Yes, I did say all. Check it out in Philippians 4:19 in the Scriptures.....Each day we have a choice as to whether or not to find the joy that surrounds us.........the love........the beauty.........the incredible gifts just waiting around the corner for us as we become aware of them and choose to receive! Yes, it is a choice.
Next, if you think about God and what He offers us the following acronym might hit home for you this week as you remember WHO God is:
M = Magnificent
I = Incredible
S = Spectacular
E = Enough
R = Rejoice
Y = Yield to God
Yes, if we yield to God, our lives, our families, our finances, our decisions, our schedules, our work, our busyness, our friends, and all that our lives contain, we might just find that our MISERY turns into something magnificent just when we think we cannot go one step further. Try remembering the magnificent, incredible, spectacular things of nature - a sunrise, a sunset, a rainstorm, a pond, a rose garden - and you will find God is enough! You will find reasons to rejoice! And, as you yield your life to God you will find new avenues to adventure and new journeys to take in this life!
Have you ever read some of Emily Dickinson's poetry??? If not, google her name and read some of her beautiful poetry. Emily wrote this sentiment on HOPE: Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in your soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.....amazing! It is true! Hope fills our heart with a song that is irrepressible at times...........other times it only whispers to us, but it is always there.
Have you ever read this adage? "Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen." What if we each chose to believe that every day? Can you imagine what our world would look like if we each displayed that kind of attitude??? If we each shared that hope and belief with one other person? Can you imagine???
Yes, I know that I have rose-colored glasses on at this moment and that all of life is not filled with joy and laughter, but we do have a choice! Each one of us........every day! Misery is definitely a part of this world we live in, but it IS an option! The good news is that if we choose to feel all of our feelings............all of them.........and learn to express them in a healthy manner, we can experience JOY despite the not-so-rosey things that happen on occasion..........or sometimes in a row........or as the old expression goes: "misery comes in threes....." Yes, sometimes misery does hit us hard and in succession. But laughter and joy are right around the corner......if only we look for them!!!
So, try Barbara Johnson's advice: Stick a geranium in your hat and be happy! If you don't like geraniums, choose a daisy - they are very happy flowers!!! And, misery DOES love company!!! LOL
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