Looking On the Bright Side

“Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted.”  Isaiah 49:13

Seems like there is nothing but bad news lately.  A person can take just so much doom and gloom.  We need to look for some sunshine in this otherwise dreary state that we are in.  The old saying is true, that “things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out”.  We need to try and stay positive and perhaps allow our troubles to show us how we can become better people, more caring and considerate of others, people who are willing to lend a hand when needed, and, for some of us, to stop thinking about me and mine all the time.  Folks tell us to look for the humor in any situation, but right now, that’s pretty difficult to do.  I suppose what we have to do is look beyond the present to the future and know that this, too, shall pass.  Everything comes to pass eventually.

Sometimes, when down in the dumps, I like to think about happy times of the past, not as one who clings to the past, but just those moments of mirth and joy that bring a smile to my face.  One of my uncles was a very wise man and full of wit.  I admire folks who can whip out a snappy comeback without even thinking about it.  One time I asked him how he was doing, and instead of saying, “Fine” or “OK”, like most of us do, he said, “Fair to partly cloudy with a chance of rain”.  That was his way of saying that he was doing fine, but was still aware that things could go south.  I remember another time when I was a teenager and visiting his family (his daughter and I were the same age).  As we were eating supper (that’s what we call dinner in the south), my aunt and uncle began to talk about my Dad and how much they admired him.  My aunt said that she would stick her head in a fire for my Dad.  My uncle quickly spoke up and said, “I wouldn’t.  I wouldn’t stick my head in a fire for anybody!”  There’s nothing like being honest.  My uncle, aunt, and cousin are all deceased now, but I have fond memories of our times together.  I am blessed that my immediate and extended family members were/are all folks who loved the Lord and lived out or are living out their faith.

I also thought about another funny story about another uncle, although it wasn’t funny at the time.  I was about four years old and visiting my Grannie.  This uncle was still living at home, and he had put on his suit to take his girlfriend, whom he later married, on a date.  He came outside where I was playing with my water pistol.  As he was walking to his car, I thought it would be funny to let him have it with my squirt gun, so I did.  He was so mad.  There he was standing in the yard with water spots all over his suit.  As soon as I saw how made he was, I knew that my squirting him with my water pistol was not all that good of an idea.  But I was only four.  Four year olds don’t stop and think about the consequences of their actions, but then neither do some adults.  He fussed at me, but I always hated to get fussed at.  Adults can sometimes seem big and scary to a little kid who meant no harm.

I know these may sound like corny stories of my youth, but I just wanted to lighten up a bit.  I enjoy thinking about them and about the folks that were/are a part of my life.  It never hurts to reflect on the past, that is, not to dwell on the “good old days”, if they were good, but to remember where we came from and where we are now, although it is looking a little bleak, but all hope is not gone.  The featured verse above tells us that God will have mercy on His afflicted people.  That’s good, because that’s what we need now–mercy.  “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1).  For that promise, I am eternally grateful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘