Sunshine in Winter

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It has been so rainy, dull and semi-depressing outside recently. Somehow I think that the surroundings we are placed in can often reflect on how we respond to our circumstances... Well, for me anyway. For example, I know that when there is crap going on in my situations, and its dark and dreary outside- I find it a lot more difficult to smile and be cheery. Maybe, in a small way, it is being counter-culture: you know, beacause wearing a smile in the middle of a storm is a wee bit anti-normal.

And today I woke up and the sunlight was streaming through the windows, illuminating that which was once bathed in darkness. And as I was lying there I just listened to the birds sing, and I allowed myself to ponder on what the new day had brought forth. As I allowed what I was observing to speak to me, it hit me hard, that we have to look for the good in life.

Smack-bang right in the middle of days and days of darkness, light and life breaks open the sky. And I think it is like that in our lives. Perhaps not quite so obvious in our circumstances, but if you look- you will find it.

There is a verse in Job that says "I have decided to forget my complaints: to put away my sad face, and be cheerful."
That is so important. We need to rethink our situations... I know that so often I look at where my wanderings have taken me, I look at my family situation, I look at the desperate state of my city- and I say to myself "Can any good come out of this?: out of me?"

But I am learning to retrain my thought patterns to perceive the good through it all. So then I look at the places I have wandered off to, and instead of seeing how lost I have been, to see how great the mercy is of God who continues to search for and find me. To look at my family and instead of the first thing I see being the intensity of the bad that is occurring- to see the smiles on their faces as they treasure time we can spend together. To walk around my streets and look at the love that is being shown every time we have a shake- to see that our people have reached into thier reserves to grasp whatever tiny bit of energy they have left- to see- to actually see all that and not just be unable to get past the cracks I can see on the surface of this place.

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends!His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."

"I will extol You, Lord, for you have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you healed me; Lord, you brought my soul up from the grave; you have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of his, and give thanks at the rememberance of his holy name.
His displeasure may be for a moment, but His favour is for life.
Our tears may endure for a night- but joy will come in the morning."

Bless you heaps.
Much love,
Maddi