It seems as if nothing will get better.
Looking at nature, we can learn much about life.
The earth is always renewing. Winters are long and all looks barren.
But beneath the earth there is life waiting to make its appearance.
Your life may look barren.
It won’t always be that way.
The hope of spring is always in sight!
Yes.
There is a scene in the African Queen when Charlie Allnut and Rose are stuck in the mucky Ulanga River. They become lost in the weeds and cannot see ahead. They have no recourse but to get out and pull the boat if they are to survive.
They suffered an attack of leeches and mosquitoes.
They finally gave up when it was clear they could not move the boat any further.
Night came and they fell asleep in the boat, accepting the inevitable.
As the camera pulls away from the scene, it begins to rain. And unknown to them, just a few hundred yards away, was a clearing of the thick brush and weeds – and the mouth of the river. Overnight, the rain caused the river to rise and effortlessly freed the boat out of its demise.
Life is like that at times, isn’t it? We get stuck in our situations and we can’t see ahead.
But we never know what the next moment, the next hour, or the next day will bring.
If you are overwhelmed and think it’s better to end your life because it hurts too much – don’t.
There is hope. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not just a few hundred feet away.
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Photo Courtesy:
Do you see the glass half full?
Or half empty?
Optimism is a choice. So is pessimism.
Which will you choose?
Life can be very difficult.
But how we look at it makes all the difference in how we proceed.
“Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of good things, and no good thing ever dies.” -Shawshank Redemption
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There’s something about a fresh start. It’s a God thing.
The Bible encourages …
forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.
Some things we should carry with us into the new year.
Some things we should leave behind.
What are those things we should leave behind?
Those things we cannot change.
Memories are good things. But we should always look forward with anticipation – no matter what we’re dealing with today.
If you’ve had a bad year, look ahead with hope and expectation. It’s right around the corner.
Bask in it like it’s already here.
Photo Courtesy: bogdan. / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
Farewell…
All is still…
And lifeless…
But nearby, new life…
When something is leaving, something is arriving.
Wait for it.
Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
How can you not have hope?
Only believe.
How you think about things makes a big difference. We can see the glass half-full or half-empty.
Half-full isn’t just positive thinking. It’s hope. It’s believing that good can happen just as quickly as the bad happened.
It’s all in how you choose to see things.
Don’t allow cynicism to cloud your thinking. Or else your glass will be completely empty.
It never gets old.
Each spring, the robins lays her eggs. The doe cares for her spotted fawn. Butterflies are reborn. The earth speaks – a new day, new hope.
Seize the day and bask in its beauty.
We have dreams. We work hard. We succeed. We fail.
Failure isn’t the end. It may be the beginning! After 5 years of writing and 3 1/2 years of rejection letters, Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, finally received an acceptance at her 60th try! The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 100 weeks. Last year, it became a movie.
You’re human. We make mistakes. God figured that into the equation.
If you are feeling the pain of failure, there is life beyond the moment you are in. Please, don’t give up. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring!
The world is a big place with scary problems. Cancer, terrorism, war, crime, the future – all cause anxiety. There is torment with anxiety. Our minds are not at peace since we may worry, obsess, or fear. They all equal pain.
Did you know God promises peace? No matter how horrible the situation is, you can have peace. In fact, perfect peace.
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you: because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
So, keeping your mind on the Lord and trusting him will give you peace. That’s because you have to take the anxiety and place it in his hands. Surround yourself with people who have hope. Distance yourself from negativity. Meditate on the scripture and find out what God is like. Reading a psalm each day connects you with the heart cry of the psalmist’s distress … and what the psalmist concludes at the end!
God sees everything. He cares for you.
when it hurts 