"But Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)
Sharon sat in her women's Bible study group, listening and laughing with the
other mothers, as they vented their frustration over the drudgery of daily
errands, and household chores.
One woman told the group, "I use to vacuum my carpet, and wash my floors as I
fumed to myself, how much I hated cleaning and picking up after everybody."
Sharon could identify with the complaints of the other women in the group.
However, they all left on a positive note saying they would change their
negativity around and serve others— including their family— with a positive
attitude.
As Sharon opened the front door to her home, her eyes immediately met with a
trail of shredded papers, empty containers, and an assortment of garbage strewn
across her floor. While she was gone, her dog had ripped apart the trash.
Greeted by this unexpected disaster, she met her first challenge to stay
positive.
After cleaning up the mess, she went to the gym for her work-out. Upon entering
the locker room she discovered she had forgotten her change of clothing. She
could feel the frustration start to rise within her. Keeping in mind what she
had learned that morning, she got back in her car and turned on some upbeat
music. She was determined to keep a positive attitude, as she drove all the way
home, and back.
After exercising her muscles, Sharon got another exercise of faith. She had
forgotten about an important doctor's appointment for her son, and was already
45 minutes late.
"That office runs flawlessly on a strict time schedule," she muttered to
herself, as she drove to the office wondering how she would get in for the
appointment.
Approaching the reception desk, she was tempted to give the receptionist a lame
excuse as to why she was late. But she admitted that she simply forgot about it.
Amazingly they ushered her son in for his appointment.
Sharon found the benefits of staying positive no matter what. She realized
putting God's Word into practice really did make a difference in the outcome of
her day. Instead of the usual feeling of dissatisfaction, she ended her day
feeling happy and content.
Annettee Budzban is freelance writer and newspaper religion columnist. She has
been multi-published on the Internet and Christian magazines. Her stories also
appear in many popular anthologies, and devotional books. You can contact her at
ahrtwrites2u@aol.com.
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