I’ve talked about the hardships I had in 2021.
The sorrow, the pain, the need to surrender, the praying, the waiting, etc. . . .
It was a hard year, I won’t deny that.
But it was also a good year.
Every day, I tried to write down at least one thing that made me happy, one good memory, one thing to be thankful for.
There were days that I missed, that I didn’t have recognize or remember blessings to write down. There were days that I wrote just a short little thing.
But there were days that I had a long list. There were days that I wrote blessing after good memory after thing-that-made-me-happy and on and on.
And as I read over them, I realized how beneficial it was for me.
Even though there was a lot of “bad,” there was also so, so, so much good. And if I hadn’t written it down, I don’t think I would realize that.
I once read a post on Instagram that talked about recording God’s faithfulness to us. We read the Bible and see His faithfulness there and it can–and often does–encourage us. But what about His faithfulness in our lives? Wouldn’t making it personal encourage us even more?
We humans are forgetful, especially when it comes to the good things. We tend to focus on the bad, remember all the pain and struggles and darkness and such. And even the Bible records a lot of “bad.” I mean, there’s an entire book called Lamentations, come on.
But the Bible also records so much good. Even in Lamentations, there are verses of hope, of encouragement. Some of my favorite verses are Lamentations 3:21-26.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Lamentations 3:21-26 (KJV)
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Why can’t we do that? Why aren’t we doing that?
It’s okay to remember the “bad.” It’s okay to grieve. To have to work through things. To need healing.
But we need to remember the good too. To remind ourselves of God, of His promises, of what He’s done and will do, of who He is. To recognize all the blessings and goodness around us.
Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.
Rita Schiano (seen on Pinterest)
I often talk/think about the good things “bu-uu-t {fill in the bad things}.” I realized that a while back, and was hit with the thought “Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t I end with the good things?” If a sentence says “___, but ___,” the second part is supposed to be the most important, the part the author wants people to focus on, the part people will most likely remember.
I want people to focus on the good. I want myself to focus on the good. And not just on the good–focus on God.
I’ll be honest about the hardships. I’ll talk about my troubles. I’ll let myself cry and mourn and have a soft heart for others, and I’ll encourage others to as well.
But I don’t want that to be the focus. I don’t want to stay there. I don’t want you to stay there. I don’t want to go throughout the year, thinking of it as a hard, bad, grief-filled year (even if it is), and then look back and realize it was so much better than I thought, and I missed too much of it in the moment ’cause I was focused on the wrong things.
So here’s to a brand-new year.
To changing the way I think and talk about the good vs. the bad.
To another year of recording blessings and good memories and happy moments and God’s faithfulness and abundant mercies.
To a year focusing on the good, even in–especially in–the bad.
It’s going to be a good year.
