In Praise Of . . .

Just last week, we were having prayer time with our five year old grandson. Here's how he started his prayer, "Dear God, thank you that I was born. Thank you for ME!" Wow! What would happen if you began your prayers for the next ten days with THAT opener!

As the old saying goes, "Attitude is EVERYTHING!" That's a BIG problem for abuse survivors - we tend to focus on the negative, which then impacts our outlook, our thinking, our relationships, and even our health. Negativity is a VERY unfair legacy of abuse. In many ways, that's what keeps the damaging, sabotaging way you've functioned going. It's what sets you up for dysfunctional relationships, unhealthy habits, mental chaos, and spiritual despair.

Now please understand, I'm about as UN-Pollyanna-ish as a person can get, but I know the value of intentionally looking for positive things - even in the most negative of life experiences. That's not the same thing as denial, but it IS a shifting in attitude to recognize that there is wonder and even beauty in some very dark moments of life.

Interesting research has been conducted to see why two people can have the same traumatic experiences and one becomes incapacitated, while the other eventually recovers in a functional way. The difference between a resilient person and one who is less resilient involves positive emotion and positive outlook.

I don't think it's an accident that Jesus taught us if we want to understand the great, unknowable, cosmic genius of God, we need to become like a child (Matthew 18:3). I always regain focus and perspective when I'm around children (I'm also happy when they're asleep, too - and quiet can resume!). Kids are caught up in the wonder of life. When you were abused, people stole that sense of wonder from you and replaced it with a cynical, dark viewpoint. Well, our life experiences certainly introduced us to a disturbing worldview, BUT I believe that worldview can be directly challenged – challenged with intentional recognition of wonder. This intentional recognition goes beyond what is around you, it also goes WITHIN you!

Now, think about a strawberry. I know this sounds a bit crazy, but have you ever considered all that goes into a single strawberry that you get from a store? Someone planted it - someone who has hopes and dreams just like you. The Earth that God made nourished it, the rain watered it, and the sun warmed it. Another person - another being with hopes and dreams - did back-breaking work to pick that strawberry. An entire system of harvest, processing, transportation, marketing, and distribution made it possible to get that strawberry to you.

One of the self-disciplines I'm really working on right now is to think about the miracle of each meal, of each breath, or each moment of wonder. So today, I sing the praises of all who made that strawberry possible. I sing the praises of me. I sing the praises of the ONE who made it all possible. When I choose to live in praise of the little things and big things - then I build within myself a resiliency that can endure tremendous difficulty.

So, how can you live in praise of . . .? Let's practice! Repeat after me . . . "Dear God, thank you that I was born. Thank you for ME!" You might even want to throw in a few kudos’ for strawberries, too!