Sometimes, when we least expect it, good happens. We aren't taught how to recognize or even deal with the good things of life. What we are taught is Murphy's Law and similar lessons of life. Often we feel like we are moving from one negative situation into another negative situation. There seem to be no exit ramps from this freeway. So, when do we slow down, look life in the eye and say "not today." Not this hour or minute. No. If we are raised in such a way that the good in life is not noticed or appreciated; we have little choice but to focus on those things that go wrong. There are things we can think, say and do that break this stranglehold on us.
There is a part of us that is fatalistic in thinking. We almost need to bring on the wrong so that we are feeling included with the world or at least a minor player. Our thinking is only part of what keeps us where we are. This thinking gets even worse if we keep it inside where our mind can dwell on the negative day and night. Often this thinking even contributes to our dreams or nightmares. I hope that I'm not the only one who has these bad dreams and nightmares. That would signify a very real problem in my life. But, by this we can further understand the deep rooted problem of thinking of the wrong can be. Let's set "fatalistic thinking." on the back burner for a bit.
Another part of the puzzle is our inheritance. I don't mean our inheritance of money or possessions. They can be a source of why we have wrong thinking but doesn't answer the question fully. We (all of us) are fairly certain that "wrong" happens to us by our own thinking as well as the thinking of others. For instance, if we are told that we are stupid, lazy, crazy or any combination of these long enough, we will believe it. We don't have to continue the trend but often do to some degree or another. There is the story of a young girl and her mother in the kitchen on Sunday at noon. The mother has taken the roast from the refrigerator and has just cut off the ends of the roast. The young girl asks her mother why she does that. The mother tells her that she learned that from her mother. The young girl leaves the kitchen with the answer and the mother is left to her thinking. Her own mother is yet alive and well. So, she calls her mother and receives the same answer she has just given to her daughter. So, she calls her grandmother. When asked the question of why there is loud laughing on the other end of the phone. When the laughter dies down grandmother says, "I cut off the ends of the roast because the oven was too small!."
Besides the fatalistic thinking and inherited thinking, there is emotional thinking. In the moment we have any number of emotions that try to insert thoughts that are not good. There are thoughts of getting even, quitting, and so many more. I don't know what your emotional thinking is like. Part of me still is looking for those signs that say people will fail me so don't count on them. Whether I've had too picking or not picky enough thinking there seems to be a connection to my emotional well being. Emotional thinking stops us dead in our tracks whether it is good or wrong thinking. It seems like a wall goes up when we enter into emotional thinking. Once angry we stop. When we are sad, we stop. When we are lonely we stop thinking. Somehow emotional thinking keeps us from moving forward. We even seem unable to find the why question to answer.
The Bible is full of right thinking, positive thinking and hopeful thinking. There are always more thoughts attached to the positive. The most important is our hope. When we have hope the negative tend to fall away. So much so that we continue our forward movement in spite of when things go wrong. There are few books that advocate a happy or positive outlook. They are there though. We just don't go there until after the conclusion of the event. Sometimes we look for the answer and cannot find one that fits our situation. We are not just the result of our consequences. But, that's the way wrong thinking keeps us prisoner. When we look to the Bible we see how positive and negative consequences work to form our character. God always wants the best for us, thinks the best about us and encourages us to be the best we can be. Mankind usually does not.
What is going to be the legacy of our life? Years down the road what are people going to say about Steve and how he lived his life? Will they see right and hope? I hope so. It's my desire to leave a positive legacy. I don't want to be that grudge living until dying person. Nor do I want to be remembered as the person you didn't want to visit. Perhaps I want to be remembered by the positive, right and good that happens in others lives. Perhaps you do to. The first step is also the last. Rely on God to transform your life individually. The rest will follow. As your life is transformed the lives of those around will also be transformed. When the first domino is tipped they all fall. You don't need a plan other than God's plan. The first step is to love God. Can you do that? I know you can. Will you do that? I pray that your answer is, "Yes!"
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