The Complaining Virus

Viruses are no fun. They cut us off from our family and friends. They make your entire body feel horrible. Plus, no matter how hard we try not to, viruses always affect someone else we care about negatively. None of us would willingly expose ourselves to such a virus. The problem is that most viruses can't be seen, so we are exposed and become infected and the cycle just goes on and on.

However, there is one virus that is visible and one that can be avoided and that is the complaining virus. We all have seen this aggressive virus in action, heaven forbid, we might have had or have the virus ourselves!! Either way, people infected with this virus often find that their friends stop calling them because they are no fun to be around. The friends that do call find themselves complaining to others as well. It's a highly contagious virus. Symptoms include unhappiness, low self esteem, few friends, and an overall feeling of irritability. Indirect symptoms can also include overlooked smiles, underappreciation for beautiful sunshine and generally taking for granted the ability to walk, talk, hear and love.

So, how do we avoid it and if we have it, what is the prescription for getting rid of it? To avoid it, stay away from those infected as much as possible as it can creep into your daily conversations easily without warning. To rid yourself of this virus if you're currently infected, grab a pen and paper and start a gratitude journal. At the end of each day, write down three things that were good that day. It can be as small as all the traffic lights were green on my drive to work. Be diligent about it though and write every night in your journal. You will find that your brain begins looking for positive things during the day and not focusing on negative things. A 2nd prescription is to pray for God to give you a pause before you complain so you can select your words and change them before they are spoken. Soon, you will be feeling better than ever.

When things are not going our way, whether it be sickness or some other unfortunate situation, we all have a tendency to complain. But, complaining is a waste of time and words and it hurts more than we know. The Bible addresses it in this way... "No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear " -Ephesians 4:29 . Let's make every effort we can to stop the spreading of the complaining virus. We'll all be better without it!! God Bless!!!

Father Knows Best

Sixteen year old Lance Edwards stood at the top of the steps and took a deep breath before he went to talk to his Dad. Lance desperately wanted to go visit his cousin Tom and spend the weekend with Tom and his friends at the Univ. of Florida. Tom had told Lance that this was a big football weekend in Gainesville and that there would be lots of parties going on. The thought of being around the college atmosphere was exciting to Lance, and the only obstacle between Lance and his big weekend was getting the "okay" from his Dad.

Lance presented his case to his Dad and was beyond furious when his Dad quickly said "No." "But why?" were the first two words that scrolled out of Lance's mouth. Lance's Dad replied that Lance wasn't ready for that atmosphere. He told Lance that there would be temptations in that setting that Lance, a youthful 16 year old, wasn't ready to tackle. He continued that he knew what was best in this situation and that Lance needed to trust him. Lance continued to shoot back how unfair this was because other friends his age were going, that his Dad must not love him because he wouldn't let him go, and that he just didn't understand why his Dad would do this to him.

That weekend in Gainesville, the Gators lost the big game. There were fights all over town. Tom and his friends were at a fraternity party when a fight broke out and Tom and several friends were arrested for assault that weekend. When Lance heard what had happened, he was so glad his Dad had not let him go to Gainesville that weekend. He thought, maybe Dad knows more that I give him credit for.....

Seems that we all have been a "Lance" at one time or another in our lives. We pray to God for a cure, a job, a spouse, etc and when things don't work out exactly as WE want, we start saying...."Why not", "This is unfair", "Everybody else does it", "God must not love me". God simply says... "TRUST ME!" Though we may hate to admit it, our earthly fathers usually do know what is best for us and our heavenly father always knows what is best for us . It may not be what we want, but we can always TRUST that God will do what is best for us in every situation. As time goes on, we can always see how God's decisions are always the best decisions.

God Bless!

Expect The Unexpected

It had been six months since his last cancer checkup. For five months and 30 days, with God's help, he had been able to shift focus away from the reminders of chemotherapy, white blood cells and oncologists. But, today, the evil one kept his mind racing with the what if scenarios. What if the doctor walks in and says, "well, looks like the cancer is back." What if the cancer is back and the treatment doesn't work this time. What if, what if , what if.... and they continue on and on. As he makes the drive to the oncologist's office that morning, he feels the pit in his stomach, the nervousness makes his legs shake and he takes deep breaths to calm himself. Then he decides to say one last prayer and beg God for good results and to ask for God to be with him during this visit. He says AMEN and takes a deep breath just wanting this morning to be over.

At the traffic light, he takes the moment to look around him and then back in front of his car. All of a sudden his eyes widen and he can't believe what he is seeing. The tag of the car in front of him is a personalized tag. The tag reads.... ULBFINE.... (translated-you'll be fine). He closes his eyes and looks again to make sure he read it correctly. Yes, that is what it said. People can write it off as coincidence if they want, but he knows the statistical likelihood of this happening at this moment in his life is astronomical. He knows that that tag is GOD's answer to his prayer. A peace overcame him and he walked into the oncologist office and received the news from the doctor that he knew he would....everything is fine. This is a true story.... I am sure of this because it happened to me.

Now God doesn't always work this way. He's not a vending machine where we put in a request and get something back immediately. However, he works in mysterious ways and answers prayers in ways that HE knows is best for each of us. This experience may never happen again, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. These intimate experiences with God, may not happen in this way often, but when they do happen, they strengthen our faith and the faith of those with whom we share the experience.

Consider this story from Mark 9:

Out of the crowd, one man answered Him, "Teacher, I brought my son to You. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak. 18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't."
19 He replied to them, "You unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me." 20 So they brought him to Him. When the spirit saw Him, it immediately convulsed the boy. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 "How long has this been happening to him?" Jesus asked his father.
"From childhood," he said. 22 "And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
23 Then Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' Everything is possible to the one who believes."
24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, "I do believe! Help my unbelief

So, no matter your situation, pray to God and believe that you will receive when you pray. Expect God to do the unexpected in your life. God's Will is always best and perfect and so we must know and accept that as well when we pray. Pray according to His will and accept his answer, but if we ever expect to receive what we ask for, we must always BELIEVE he will do it.