Thought for the Day

This is the thought for the day on BigglesFM local radio today (which can be listened to here):

We have just come back from a family holiday in Scotland, where we had a great time, seeing lots of sights and enjoying ourselves, visiting family and camping next to Loch Lomond. Except for two things: the rain and the midges! It rained lots and at times it felt like a water bed under our tent groundsheet. When it wasn’t raining, the midges came out to play!

However, it was vital for the sake of our holiday that we did not let those two factors ruin our time. We could have given up and come home early, or been grumpy because we were constantly moaning about the weather or the midges. But generally, we made the choice to make the most of our holiday and chose to concentrate on the good, not the bad.

But why am I going on about my holiday, you may be thinking? You should be thankful that I can’t show you the 600 or so photos we took while away! In life we face difficulties, problems or inconveniences which we could allow to dominate our lives and our thinking, if we allow them. Yes, we do absolutely face awful things, or sad situations, at times, and I am not intending to belittle anything that anyone may be going through, but we still have a choice to make in how we respond.

It’s been said that how we respond to tough situations can make us BITTER or they can make us BETTER. How we respond is the key, because we all go through good times and bad, just like it talks about in the wedding vows “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” And you don’t have to be married to face those challenges. Will we allow our situations or circumstances to define us, or will we define our response to those situations and circumstances?

We do not ignore the situations, and we should not ignore what we, or those around us, are going through. Instead we must ensure that we do not allow negative thinking, worrying or even anger to make us bitter.

As a Christian myself, this does not mean that bad things will not happen to me. Far from it, because I live in an imperfect world, where sickness, death, disaster and wrong things happen all the time. But as a Christian, I believe in a God who promises to help me and support me, come what may, and am part of a worldwide Christian family who are trying the best to follow in the example Jesus set, when on the earth he was helping those in need all the time. God hears our prayers, wherever we are and whoever we are. And God’s people are only too happy to pray for you, if you don’t feel happy to pray yourself.

Just as we wouldn’t let a bit of rain (well, a lot of rain) and a few, okay, a lot of midges spoil our holiday, by our choices, don’t let someone else’s careless words or actions spoil your day. Refuse to allow problems ruin your week or month and don’t let bad reactions destroy relationships or lives.

In the words of Yoda, from Star Wars: “Choose wisely, you must.”