Sunshine Inside

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?"  These are rhetorical questions whose answer is "no."

There was an interesting tidbit of news in "The Decatur Daily" this week.  The principal of a private high school gave his students the day off just to enjoy some beautiful, sunshiny spring weather.  This caused me to think how happy, how upbeat the sunshine and warm weather make us feel.  In contrast, the cold, dreary days of winter lend themselves to gloomy, depressing thoughts.
   

There are many difficult events that occur in our lives.  There are winter kinds of days when we receive no encouragement from outside sources, no serendipitous surprises to lighten our loads.  This is when we must encourage ourselves, must determine to have a positive attitude and outlook if we are to have an upbeat day.
    

We can encourage ourselves in a variety of ways.  At the top of the list should be reading and claiming some of God's many promises in the Bible.  We can pour out our thoughts in prayer.  We can concentrate on God's goodness and bask in his love.  We can also take time to do something we especially enjoy, to give ourselves a serendipity, or give someone else a happy surprise.  Even though there might be cloudy days on the outside, we can choose to have sunshiny days on the inside.

Father, may I choose each day to be grateful for the good, to trust you through the difficulties, to rely on Your promises, and to enjoy Your gifts and share them with others.  Amen.