So very common... and equally destructive, joy-suckers, life-stunters.
Day-to-day life can be tough... alright, it IS tough. If anyone tries to tell you that they never have bad days, they're lying to your face (seriously). Bad days happen... trials come (Remember that passage in James??). But how do we choose to react to them?
Better yet, how do we choose to reveal them to those around us? (The friend who asks how you are... the family members stepping into conversation space with us... neighbors, coworkers, innocent random bystanders)
I am a stay-at-home wife and mommy. I absolutely LOVE my "job" as such! But, ya know what? It's HARD. "Don't worry... Mommies always scream into their pillows when they're happy" (search for Rob Paravonian on YouTube and look for his video on a children's song... you'll find this quote there). It's hard to even WANT to go outside the house with two little ones (an energetic toddler and a young infant), it's hard to coordinate schedules to hang out with other adults on a regular basis... and when those loooooong work weeks happen for hubby, I may only get an hour or less each day with him.
So, with all of this limited adult conversation time, why do I find myself bringing them complaints, negatives, all the downs? Because it's so easy to focus on negatives! They are so very powerful, difficult to overcome... ever heard that it takes about 10 positive things to counteract 1 negative?? Yeah, it's true!
I'm ecstatic when I get to have adult conversation... time with my hubby, time with friends, time with acquaintances. With the enthusiasm, I ought to share it with them... share my joys, my highs, my praises for all that is wonderful in my life!
Plus, God commands us to be joyful, to keep from complaining... He does this for our own good, really. How easy it is for us, as humans, to be dragged down to the lowest of lows... and to try to take everyone with us (because we don't want to be there alone). How much better it would be to bask in joy, in the highs, and to bring everyone with us! MUCH better to be together and full of joy, than together (possibly) and full of despair.
Philippians 2:14 "Do everything without complaining or arguing."
Boy, do I have work to do here! I was inspired in reading of one Wife/Momma's journey to eliminating a complaining spirit in herself (Biblicalhomemaking.com), and would like to take my own personal journey in this area.
How about YOU? Will you join me? My hubby is going on this journey too... we were just speaking about this very thing this evening (we want to be more positive... and have much more enriched relationships and conversations with those in our lives)
I want to be accountable to others in this journey... because this is tough, it's big, and it's life-changing!
My baby girl won't be a baby for long (all I have to do is look at my almost 2 year old!!!!)... so I want to choose to enjoy the sweet snuggles, having her fall asleep on me, instead of complaining about how much my rear end hurts from sitting in the chair with her for an hour or 2 at a time. :) I want to enjoy my son learning how to draw, write, be creative... instead of complaining about the crayon marks on my white-cushioned dining room chairs (I'm the genius who picked those, right? haha!).
Life is too fleeting to be wrapped up in what irks us... too precious to waste on complaints. So, let's do this!! :)
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