Thanksgiving weekend of 2002 could have been the worst weekend of my life. If I listened to the doctors and their prognosis, it may very well have been devastating.
That is the weekend that my daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with a life threatening disease. A disease that does not allow her to process all of her amino acids so she cannot have much protein. A disease that prompted the doctors to say that she would probably not live 6 months.
This weekend (Thanksgiving 2007), I had the privilege of watching her blow out candles on her 5th birthday cake. See, the doctors do not always know what they are talking about.
In the past 5 years, this little lady has been a blessing to our family and touched so many lives. She has a smile as big as Texas and loves life. She does not know that she has a disease. She only knows that “today I can get up and play”. She is not concerned about what will happen tomorrow or if/when her disease will get worse, she only knows that “today I am loved”.
Our family could have taken that situation and said “why did it happen to me/us?”. Instead, we have taken her as a blessing today. One of God’s little people put down here to be with us for as long as he wants to share her.
If we had been looking for the bad part of this, it would have been very easy to find all kinds of unhappy aspects on which to concentrate. We could have expanded all of the pain misery that she has had to endure. Or we can dwell on all the happiness she has brought to this world.
It is great to watch a child enjoy life. To laugh, run and play without a thought about what may lay in her future. To see her chase the cats, play in the water sprinkler or ride her bike.
Not to be a pessimist but none of us have any guarantee of a long life. All of us may have the opportunity to have something remove us from this world. We need to live our life to the fullest and enjoy the present.
We should all take an example from the way kids play. How they enjoy their lives before we train them to become worriers and strivers. Before they learn to live in the future and not enjoy the present.
Wayne Dyer has said that he has a suit in his closet that “has no pockets”. This is to remind him that the last suit that he will wear (to his funeral) will not need pockets to hold any money or any of his possessions. He is trying to tell us that we must live in the now.
I ask you, have you ever seen a hearse in a funeral pulling a U-Haul trailer full of possessions. Have you ever heard someone on their death bed say that they should have spent more time at the office or on the job?
If we look inside for our joy and happiness, it will make our lives something that will be a lot easier to enjoy.
You find what you look for so look for the joyand happiness in the situation. Look for the half full glass instead of the half empty one.
If you look for the bad things in life, you will find them. But, if you look for the joy and happiness, that is what you will find.
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