“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
I’ve been doing some heart thinking lately, about what’s really important and what’s only trappings. Two people can look at the same occurrence and not feel at all the same. An illness to one can be the end of all hopes and dreams and a reason for self-pity and wallowing around in the “slough of despond.” To another, it’s a temporary setback and a challenge. The difference in view-point
is due to an inner resilience, or that flickering flame called Hope, a trust in God’s purpose and a gathering of spiritual resources and strength.
For those of us who remember wood-burning fireplaces and stoves and have ever built a fire and watched it smolder and die, we know that sometimes that flame, covered by ashes can look gray and cold. Actually, when the ashes are raked away, there are the coals, alive and glowing and just waiting for kindling to be laid on top so they can spring up and burn brightly again.
Anyway, those are my thoughts this morning before the dawn slips into NWArkansas and breathes life into a new day. For all of us, negatives abound, but so do positives. Hope is the ember within, that glowing warmth just waiting to spring into a flame. It all depends on that inner outlook, the way we think deep within our hearts.
Blanche, you always give such beautiful “mind pictures” from the past, I can smell that fresh kindling flame now! I wonder if the “flickering flame of Hope” surrounds us with the fragrance of Christ?
And thinking further…the kindling to keep that Hope flaming would be to abide in His Word…which is where I always go when the surrounding “negatives abound”!
Donna from Utah sends her love and prayers! So do I! : )
Thanks for writing, Fran. You are an encourager. And a big hello back to Donna. Wish I could be there today.
That was lovely, Blanche. It has so much to do with our attitude. I always hope I can find something positive in every situation. Even when it’s the worst of times, we still wake up to the sunrise and perhaps dew on the grass! There’s a proverb that says if you show yourself discouraged, you power will be weak. (don’t quote me on that but that is the gist of it!) Negative feelings make it hard to cope.
You are absolutely right, Sharon. I think you are a very positive person. Thanks for writing.
So true. View point is everything.
Thanks for writing, Helen.