Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Is your glass half empty or half full?


OK. I'll admit it. I am a "glass half empty" kind of person. I tend to be rather pessimistic. I know, I know. Regular readers of my blog are saying, "Duh! We already know that!" I thought I'd admit it here anyway.

Why is my glass half empty, you ask?

I honestly don't know. Every morning I wake up to an abundance of blessings. Every morning I thank God for all that He has given me. The song "Count Your Blessings" should be my theme song, because my blessings are too numerous to count! And yet many times throughout each day my glass is half empty, or at least that's how I see it. Some of the blessings God has given me--a husband, kids, work, friends--are the very things that bring me low.

There's a story in Luke that reminds me of myself. It's found in Luke 10:38-42. You may be familiar with the characters--Mary and Martha.

Martha's glass was half empty. She was worried about the food, the house, the guests, the preparations. And she was really peeved that her sister wasn't worried at all. Mary, unlike Martha, was a glass-half-full kind of girl. Look in verse 3:

"...Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said."

Mary wasn't being lazy. Her glass was half full--maybe it was even completely full!--because she knew that spending time at the Savior's feet was far more important than cooking a meal. No, food won't prepare itself and someone had to do it, but perhaps Martha was going to the extremes for her guests instead of laying out a simple meal in order to spend more time with Jesus.

That's what He wants, you know? Jesus wants to spend time with us.

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (10:41-42)

Sometimes I think the Lord must be saying, "Michelle, Michelle, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed."

God has never failed me. I have never gone a day without my needs and many of my wants being met. Yes, I've had disappointments. I had one yesterday, in fact, but nothing so big that it will cause me to doubt God and His amazing, fulfilling love for me. He has a plan and a purpose for my life, but when I get too caught up in all the "stuff", I lose track of what is most important.

I can't say for sure my glass will always be half full, but I'm really going to try. Y'all can hold me accountable, OK?

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