A Lesson Hopefully Learned

Updated Edition 8/12/2022

I have a bad habit. I seem to allow my mind to dwell on the things that are not going well. I tend to lean more negatively than positively in my thinking. It is really embarrassing to admit that I sometimes wallow in self-pity. The ridiculous thing is, in these moments of weakness, I try hard to justify how I feel rather than putting my mind back on the right track, but once I finally listen to my deeper inner voice, you know the one that is most likely speaking for the Holy Spirit, I finally start snapping myself out of it.

It is a bad habit that I have been working on for years to curb, and I know God is patiently helping me to overcome it. In fact, this week He taught me a very valuable lesson, that God willing, will help me to finally break this habit once and for all. I had a type of ‘smack in the face’ moment this week, and it was due to my daughter’s strength, faith, and character.

My daughter, Jazmyn, and her husband, Cole, have been through a lot in the past few weeks. They were expecting their first child. Sadly, Jazmyn miscarried the baby. We all grieved and are still grieving, but there is healing too. Then this week her husband on his way home from work lost control of his car and wrecked. Thankfully, he is fine, but at the time we didn’t know whether the car was totaled or not. Through all of this though, Jazmyn stayed positive. She focused on the positive that Cole was okay, and cars can be replaced even if it is expensive to do so. She had faith that God would see them through this. What she didn’t do, that I have a tendency to do, is give into despair and become anxious.

It may seem ironic that I am a Christian blogger that writes about faith and resilience, but sometimes I fail to do the things I write. I am being honest sometimes my faith can be a tad weak. What I write are things I’m trying to learn. Writing things down helps me have a reality check on myself and my relationship with the Father and my Messiah.

The truth is, I witnessed how much faith my daughter and her husband have during these past few weeks. Their marriage has been strengthened through all of this instead of weakened. They are focusing on the positives in all situations. It is hard to find a positive in a miscarriage, but the one they hold onto is that they will see their baby one day in God’s Kingdom. They are also hopeful in God blessing them with a family. Thankfully, they found out that the car is not totaled. In fact, it seems to only need body repairs.

The smack really came, though, after talking to my daughter the day after the wreck. I realized she never said one negative thing. She didn’t complain. She didn’t get frustrated. In fact, she called just to see how I was doing. She focused only on the positives in the situation, and I realized that by her focusing on the positives and hope, it made her get through these trials in a more faithful positive way. It showed me that focusing or dwelling on the negatives makes a bad situation worse. However, focusing on hope and finding whatever positives there are makes you strong enough to walk through the trial.

God gave me a faith check. I needed to be reminded of how we are supposed to behave. I needed a reminder of what His word tells us, and God willing I won’t forget to walk in it:.