When I was younger, I built houses. Through that decade of my life I had many days when things were not going well. In those times it seemed as if I worked twice as hard and got less accomplished. That is something that has happened to me time and time again through my life.
If you have ever tried to get something done, you will have experienced those days when nothing seems to be going right. As I have gotten older, I find that I look for answers rather than attacking those times with a burst of strength. The truth is that I do not have that burst of brute strength that I once had so I am forced to look at things differently.
It is human nature to blame everything or everyone for the things we go through. I remember blaming the architect for discrepancies in the drawings I was using. I would blame the weather when we had to tromp through mud and it seemed as if it took forever to complete the job. Then there was the help. If they would only take some initiative and quit waiting for me to tell them everything they needed to do. We sure have a way of deflecting our problems.
I have found, instead of blaming others and thinking that my circumstances were responsible for my bad days, if I take full responsibility things get much better. Such as reading the drawings ahead of time; before you start to nail things together, or planning your work so that the weather is not as much of a factor. I also have realized that my help might have been messing up because I had not taken the time to clearly explain what needed to be done.
This is the same thing that happens in our relationships. We can blame others or try to fix the problem with an aggressive attack against it. But neither of those things will work. As a matter of fact, more times than not, they make things worse. Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment.
Matthew 22: 37-38, Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
When all else fails we need to try loving God and loving each other. This gives us the ability to see things as they really are and take responsibility for the things in our life that always seem to go wrong. Our spiritual wellbeing translates into every other area of our lives.
These are the things we address at the Gathering Place every Wednesday evening at 7 and Sunday morning at 9:30 and 10:30. Come and join us.
