Compared to what?

I have always been a glass half full kind of person, almost naively so.  I know there are bad things that happen in life but I am not one to focus on negativity.  God handles our worries better than we can.  And when Ryan was little and went through everything he did physically (medically) I learned quickly what is a serious matter and what is not.

We have a great house.  It is not fancy.  The carpet does not look nice, really, but we have carpet.  The furniture is not fancy, but we have furniture.  And I love it.  I am happy everyday when I pull into our driveway, especially when my husband's car is already in the driveway after work.  It is our home. It is safe.  It is big enough for our family and fine with me.  Every night when I go to bed I know where my children are, I know where my husband is and life is good.

Obviously if you are reading this blog you know that I have been having aches and pains caused by this cyst in my spinal cord.  But you know what?  I am still able to do the things that I value most.  I am able to get out of bed and get dressed.  I am able to go to work because I love my job and it is important to my family that I work so we can do the things our children enjoy (sports, dance, clothing, etc...) to a degree.  I love volunteering at my church and worshipping at church and I want to continue doing that and I can!  Yippee!  I may be physically done by 5:00 (or sooner) but that's okay.  Our kids know where the refrigerator is. 

I may hurt when I am doing these things I like to do, but so what.  I am here living the awesome life that God gave me and I am appreciative of it.  In the past 10 months my cousin lost her husband who was 40 years old to a sudden heart attack and my same cousin lost a cousin who was 44 years old to a battle with melanoma that lasted 7 years.  That's close to home for me.

I admit that one of my greatest fears in life is to get "old", primarily to lose my ability to be productive and mobile.  I am already losing some of that ability at 43, much earlier than I thought I would.  I am facing that fear and realizing that the things that we fear are not as bad as we think they are, compared to the alternatives. 

Jonathan Mast preached an excellent sermon this morning on financial peace.  He said a person can be poor and make wise spiritual finanical decisions or a person could be rich and make poor spiritual financial decisions.  Basically, being poor does not make you unwise nor does being rich make you wise.  It is important that we keep our needs and wants in perspective and choose wisely.  It is not the things we have that make us happy, but that we appreciate the things we have that makes us happy.  And that is true for our lives as well, not just our possessions. 

If you ask me how I am doing, I'll be honest and tell you that I might be in pain at that moment.  But to the best of my ability I am going to make wise choices with what I have.  Compared to the alternatives of severe disability or illness, I am good.  And happy.

Philippians 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again.  Rejoice!

Philippians 4:11-4:13  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have the learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength. 

(If you do not have a church home, I recommend that you put the Hillside Christian Church app on your phone.  Or go on-line and listen the the sermons on your computer.  The current sermon series is on marriage.)