Although our Sunday Celebration was cancelled due to a blizzard, we always have the opportunity to read an uplifting message and watch an inspiring music video.
This week I was treated to a seminar “Begin With Yes” by Paul Boynton. He makes the case that we all choose how we experience life. We can choose to feel offended by a friend or co-worker’s action or we can understand that the person may be going through something. Then we can give that person and ourselves a break. You can learn more at www.beginwithyes.com
Your Choice
Does it make a difference to make that kind of effort? You could allow yourself to get frustrated when you’re stuck at home pounded by a storm, or think that you’ve been given a day off to catch up on all those things you have to do! It’s about looking for that silver lining.
Sometimes we make life so complicated by focusing on the “bigness” of the situation in front of us instead of figuring out how to shift our thinking. It brought to mind Psalm 13 which is attributed to King David.
O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.5 But I trust in your unfailing love.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
At the end of the soliloquy, David makes an amazing shift in his thinking that turns out to be a game changer. “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice…” Greatness is finding a way to have faith and rejoice in the midst of difficulty. That’s where the rubber hits the road.
This sentiment is expressed in the song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen.
The song was celebrated this week as the most recorded song in history. The irony is that Cohen had a hard time finding a recording label to accept it and yet it has moved the hearts of people around the world for decades. No matter what happens in life we can find our way through when we force the words hallelujah from our lips. We can choose to shift our perspective. We can choose to find joy in the midst of difficulty. We can choose to remember that “God has been good to me.”
“Your words and deeds must register in the memory of God. I want you to do something God can remember.” – Sun Myung Moon
In shifting our thinking and turning things around we have the opportunity to even amaze God. Now there is something to sing about.
