Changing our Perspective

I saw a quote that seemed pertinent to this Thanksgiving: “Some people grumble that roses have thorns. I am grateful that thorns have roses.” (Alphonse Karr) Maybe you’ve faced a holiday where it just wasn’t cracking up to be what you expected. For me, the day before Thanksgiving, I’ll be having sinus surgery. So, I’m planning a rip-roaring holiday!

I’m sure we’ve all faced circumstances that aren’t quite what we planned for. I’ve been waiting for months to get this surgery done. Who doesn’t want to feel better? Finally, they gave me their first available date for surgery, the day before Thanksgiving. What’s a girl to do? I took it!

So, I could look at this whole situation and grumble: “I can’t have a normal Thanksgiving. I can’t cook and have people over like I love to do. I can’t probably even enjoy food!” Grumble. Grumble. Grumble. Or, I could say: “I’m so thankful I found a doctor who knows what’s wrong. I’m so thankful that I CAN get it done. I’m so thankful that we have insurance. I’m so thankful I’ll feel better soon. I’m so thankful for doctors who know how to solve this problem.” A Change of Perspective.

You see, often we prefer to grumble that roses have thorns and not see that thorns have roses! We’re so stuck on what we don’t have that we miss what we do have. 1 Thessalonians 5:18  says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Now, that’s a hard verse. But please note, the Bible isn’t commanding us to FEEL thankful in all circumstances! It tells us to give thanks! (Sharon Jaynes) I find that when I lift my eyes from the “grumble” part of my situation and instead THANK God, I find such peace and comfort.

Sharon Jaynes writes “Gratitude changes the lens through which we see the circumstance in our little slice of time. Thanksgiving changes our perspective despite broken dreams, broken relationships, tumultuous circumstances, and unfulfilled longs. As we praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He’s done, our perspective of Him grows larger and our problems grow smaller.” (Gratitude Changes Everything)

As you walk into Thanksgiving week, where do you need a change of perspective? How might You thank God, even when the circumstance doesn’t FEEL particularly good?

If you could name one thing you’re grumbling about this week, what would it be? _________________

Lord, Thank You for this special time of year. I pray a blessing on each person and ask that whatever their “grumble” is this week, You would truly help them give thanks. Maybe it’s hard to find something to be thankful for, but, LORD, I pray You to help each person gravitate to a thankful heart. We may not understand all that’s going on in our life, but we are going to trust You fully each day. Amen.

When we struggle with our perspective, it helps to worship and remember that He is more than enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_uLYfpgwP4

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Grumbling or Gratitude?

I just got an alert on my phone that the temperature dropped from 81 degrees to 59 degrees in 2 hours here in San Antonio today. I don’t think our city has seen the likes of these temperatures since last spring.

Weather brings out the best and the worst in people. Many people prefer hot weather here in South Texas every day they can get it and complain when it’s cold. Then, there is another group of people who don’t like the heat, tired of the heat and are ready for a change from the heat. Those folks like days like this. You might be able to guess which camp I fall into. 

I guess weather brings out something in us that we’re all guilty of at one time or another. Grumbling. Grumbling is as old as the hills and speaking of old, grumbling goes back to the Old Testament of the Bible.

In Exodus 15:22-25, Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and went to a desert. They went for three whole days in the desert with no water! When they found water, it was bitter, and they couldn’t even drink it. And what did the people do? They grumbled against Moses, saying “What are we supposed to drink?” At that time, Moses cried out to God and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water and the water was good to drink.  So, even though the people complained, God still provided water for them.

Once we grumble, it’s easy to grumble again! In Exodus 16:2-3, the Scripture reads:

“In the desert, the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

It does seem that once we begin to grumble, it becomes a bit of a habit, if not careful. As the Israelites faced danger, shortages of food, and inconveniences. They complained over and over and longed to be back in Egypt.

Gosh, don’t you relate to those Israelites? When difficult circumstances arise, I find that I can get stressed. So, what happens in the stress of our circumstances? We grumble and complain. Such a natural response.

Yet, God calls us to a different way of responding.  Gratitude. One thing I realized is that I can’t be both grumbling and grateful at the same time. Gratitude is focusing on what’s good in our lives and being thankful for the things we have. When we’re grateful to God, it opens our spiritual eyes. We recognize God, His presence, His perfect timing, and Him working in and around us. Gratitude and peace go hand in hand. We don’t have to stress! God is in control! His promises are true! Always! 

Today is a new day. Will you grumble through this day or be grateful?

Don’t you want to be a grateful person? I sure do! Take a listen to this worship song that literally expresses gratitude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA83MufOCoA

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

The Tentacles of Gossip

 One of my favorite games as a child was” Broken Telephone.” It starts off by a group of people sitting in a circle and the first person whispers a secret into the ear of the person on one side, they whisper to the next person, and it goes around the circle, only to find out when the secret gets to the end, it’s an entirely different secret!

It sure is good and funny when you hear the secret at the end and it’s totally different than what the original person said. It’s not so funny in real life under the name of gossip.

Gossip is all around us. It doesn’t take long to see a bunch of information one could classify as “gossip” on social media. Gossip thrives on Facebook, Twitter, texts, and Instagram, in neighborhoods, on HOAs, in families, in churches, and in offices. Gossip is everywhere and it has the potential to destroy lives.

Have you ever been gossiped about? It’s not fun if you’re on the receiving end, especially when it’s false information. It’s just like the “Broken Telephone” game! Yet, the problem is, gossip is so ‘out there.’ We have no idea how far the tentacles of gossip have traveled. There’s no way to retrieve all the information, make it right or even try to change an opinion about it. Gossip is just gone forever.

I think we would all agree that NONE of us want to be the object of gossip. What we may not agree on is this: Will WE stop gossiping?

I find reading a Proverb a day quite helpful as I seek to live before God. Given there are 31 Proverbs, it’s quite fitting to read all the Proverbs in a month. Note these great Proverbs about gossiping:

“A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.” Proverbs 11:13, NLT

“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Proverbs 18:21 NLT

“A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers.” Proverbs 20:19 NLT

I love Rick Warren’s definition of gossip: “When we are talking about a situation with somebody who is neither part of the problem nor part of the solution, then we are probably gossiping.”

How do we handle gossip? 1. Commit to holding confidences of others. Trust is a beautiful gift.  2. Change the topic when you see a conversation veering off to gossip. 3. Don’t spread gossip. 4. Read a Proverb a day and pray that God will help you put a guard over your mouth. (Psalm 141:3-4)

Every one of us is tempted to gossip at some point in time. Ask God to help you be different.

Take a listen to this song. When we have a relationship with Christ, He forgives us of all our sins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZVjKrmvYYQ

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.