Two roads...

In any situation, two distinct roads lie before me... joy and pain-filled. Both of these roads travel through the same forest... the backdrop does not change... both paths are lined with the same foilage.... whether it be death, divorce, illness.... or birth, wedding, and health... the forest is the same.... it is the path we CHOOSE that makes the difference.

Will we CHOOSE to focus on all our troubles? Our pain.. Our need... Our misery... Or will we CHOOSE to focus on our blessings? God's provisions... loving people to walk the path with us... small miracles....

The difference (and the POWER) lies within us.  We CHOOSE if our lot will be joyful or pain-filled. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying ANYONE can walk through the forest of adultery without pain. I'm not saying ANYONE can travel the wilderness of childhood cancer without agony.  I'm not saying the landscape of foreclosure can be experienced without hurt. What I'm saying is we ALL have ICK in our lives.  You can't control that.  You can't avoid much of it. What you can do is make the most of it. As long as you're there,  why not learn something? As long as you have you carry this load,  why not find some joy in it? As long as you're weak and hurting,  why not give God the glory?

Lest you think I'm getting too preachy, let me just admit that I'm writing this blog from a rocky road. The exact struggles that line my path aren't important.  What's important is I'm hearing God LOUDLY tell me to keep my eyes fixed on the GOOD that lines my path and let Him worry about the bad.

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.
Philippians 4:12