It’s a Beautiful Day
Category: Faithblogs
Over the past few weeks my family and I have had some interesting life hurdles to jump over. First, we had a flood which damaged many of our personal belongings. Next, we had some more water damage; both times the water damage was caused by blocked drainage pipes. Then, the brakes on the car went, some new furniture was delivered with some major damage, the drivers side window of my minivan went down and wouldn’t go back up, my new George Foreman grill that I had as a Christmas gift wouldn’t work, I got ripped off at the garage, and a humidifier I recently purchased decided to empty itself all over the floor! It seems that recently something new happens every day.
So it’s safe to say we’ve had a few very trying weeks. But, of course, I handled things like a pro, didn’t I? Nope, I am ashamed to say that I could have handled things much better, and a lot more calmly. In fact, I basically went into sulk mode throughout it all – Why me? How much more? Why’s this happening? Poor little ol’ me! I’m having a bad day, bad week… scratch that, bad life!
Upon reflection I realize I was acting like nothing more than a spoiled brat. And I’m sure that when God looked down on me during this time he saw me behaving like a child having a fit because he didn’t get what he wanted. You see, I wanted life to go smoothly, and instead of meeting the challenge of life head on, I sulked and held a pity party.
Maybe I can justify my behavior by saying I was having a bad day. But was I? I mean, really, was I having a bad day? Trying, perhaps. Frustrating, definitely. But bad? Let’s look at some facts. The sun was shining more often than not. My family were safe, well fed and watered, and healthy. We had a warm, safe place to sleep at night, with hot and cold running water. And there was money in the bank. Looking at the discomforts we faced in the light of these facts, my life wasn’t really all that bad. In fact, life was pretty good – I just failed to see it!
On having a really bad day – I recall watching a World Vision advert in which various people were shown living in need; one woman had lost one child due to malnutrition and didn’t know how she would feed her other child; one man had lost his son to a landmine; one child, about 9 years old, had lost both his parents to AIDS and had to fend for himself by digging through hazardous waste in a quest to feed himself.
According to figures released by the United Nations, today over 25,000 people will die of hunger, 5,500 people will die of AIDS, and over 28,000 people will die of preventable illness and disease (Poverty.com). When I think upon such things I realize that my temporary setbacks are just that, setbacks. They may be unpleasant to deal with at the time, but they don’t tend to last too long.
However, the reality is there are people in this world who are really having bad days, and all I can think of is the famous line in the World Aid song Let Them Know It’s Christmastime, “So tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you.” And I do thank God that I am one of the fortunate few in this world that gets three square meals a day, a warm place to sleep at night, and every mod-con that life can afford. I thank God that my children are safe and healthy. I thank God that I can preach and write about him without fear of reprisal.
Chances are if you are reading this you are one of the fortunate one’s too. So thank God for your life everyday. Thank him for the food you eat, the water you drink, the heat that keeps you warm in winter, and the air conditioning that keeps you cool in summer. Thank him for the safeties and freedoms that you, and your family, enjoy on a daily basis. Thank him that you are free to worship him openly, when many of our brothers and sisters around the world put their lives on the line by following Jesus.
There may be times in life that are frustrating and cause temporary setbacks, but I’m sure that any one of the people in need I described above would trade their best day for our worst any time. In the Western World we have things pretty good, so like the U2 song Beautiful Day says, “It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away.”
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
February, 2009
Picture by Joe Carey
If you would like to sponsor children who are in desperate need visit World Vision today!
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