Thursday, April 10, 2008

Don't be BITTER....be BETTER!!!


Last night, I was watching FOX news as I was running away on the elliptical. (Actually I don't know if you would call it running, but you get the picture.) With sweat starting to bead on my forehead, there was a priest who was talking about struggles. (No kidding, I thought as the intensity of my workout grew.) He was talking how we all have struggles in our life, but we really need to think about how we react to them. 

Now, my mom has always told me this...it's not about what problems you have, it's the way you handle them that determines your happiness. I think she was right on, I just never wanted to admit that when I was 16. The priest on last night was reiterating the same concept. He said through the struggles we have we can either deepen our relationship with God, or we can become bitter with Him. We can take the struggles and learn from them, or we can play the "poor me" roll and the "why do bad things always happen to me??" line. Instead we can use these struggles to lean on and rely on God and allow Him to guide us, which in turn will deepen our relationship with Him. 

I don't know about you, but this VERY simple concept struck me really hard. I have been having struggles lately and, honestly, I have been playing the "poor me, why me??" roll. I have been thinking that I am the only one with struggles and when are they going to stop?? I have thought, "well, here we go again...". And, this is a very poor, BITTER attitude of mine. I have been saying these things, rather than leaning on God and relying on Him, to become better. 

So, what are you doing when you struggle?? Are you playing the "poor me" card? Are you saying, "bad things just always come my way"? Are you thinking the world owes you something because you have these struggles?? Have you become bitter?? I would pray that you would do just the opposite. I pray you would realize EVERYONE has struggles, but your attitude about life, God, and these struggles will depend on how you react to them. Don't become bitter with God. Rather, lean on Him. Depend on Him. Rely on Him. It's amazing how your life will be. Don't be bitter....be better!!

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