One of my favourite old Disney movies is "Pollyanna" with Haley Mills. As I read the above verse this morning, I was reminded of the quote found inside the locket Pollyanna wore, the locket given to her by her father.
"When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will." Abraham Lincoln.
In the past many weeks as my journey has been difficult at best, I have found the opposite to be just as true as well. If I search for the good, expecting to find it, I surely will. Often the search is longer and harder as the treasure is buried, but it's there, and it's so precious for the finding.
Did I come to this perspective easily? No! I have a friend who is daily encouraging me to focus on the positive. To look for the good and keep looking until I find it. I'm discovering that so much of the 'bad' is speculation, possibility and appearance, but not truth.
The benefit of being a scout for the favourable is that it focuses my mind on the agreeable and pleasing. For example, today, sitting by my Dad's bedside in the hospital as he enjoyed an afternoon nap, I tuned my ears to good. This is the good my heart heard:
...a patient trying to sing Happy Birthday...a Dr. who is checking Dad for infection and providing a cream...the sweet nurse Kim who seems so caring...the nurse playing "Crazy 8's" with another patient (a fitting game for this ward...oops...sorry..couldn't help myself..)...an encouraging word as the nurse praised another patient who almost found her room by herself...the sound of laughter...an invitation extended to Dad's room-mate to go watch TV...an orderly who offered directions to an outdoor patio if we wanted to take Dad outside...the nurse who voluntarily told us about chapel services...the nurse who was putting the kettle on to refresh a weary soul...
The sound of 'good'.
What good did you hear today? Keep seeking!
5 comments:
I heard kids laughing as they played together in the living room... and played with play-doh... birds singing on the deck as I got ready for supper... my husbands heartbeat as we snuggled for a bit, in a child free house (!!)...the sweet sound of my sons deep breathing as he fell asleep against me while cuddling on my bed... the peeper frogs and crickets chirping, as i get ready to settle in for tonight...
and I hope to hear God's voice in my few moments alone with him before bed.
Love you Joy, and thanks for the reminder to look for and listen for the good.
God bless,
heather
I just found your blog and that was such an inspiring post! I heard the kids at the pool laughing today and the joy at the bridal shower in all of the ladies talking :)
"a scout for the favourable"--my favorite line; I want to be on point for finding God's good in the everyday. I found so much good in church this morning and yesterday, sitting bedside with a friend and having a long distance chat with another...
peace~elaine
I heard my husband sing today on the Praise & Worship team from his heart, it was beautiful. This is a struggle for him because he holds back his emotions for God, and if it was utterly emotional for me, I am sure the Lord found favor as well!
What a great post Joy and oh so true. Thank you for looking for the good, I know at times it can be truly heartwrenching to do so, but the outcome is far more beneficial and makes the difficult manageable.
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