Do you remember when you learned what happens when you flip a light switch on and off?
Joy has experienced complete wonderment lately as I have been teaching her the great mystery of optical revolution which a little flick of the switch can do. I will take her little finger and touch the cool plastic switch on the wall, then help her give it a downwards ride. Instantly the room in plunged into darkness. I can't see the look on her face, and I wonder what she might be thinking. I imagine her baby thoughts..."Where am I now? What is that dark shape over there? Oh, good, I still feel Mama's arm here. So what is this tiny little switch that makes everything change?"
To be honest, sometimes I wish I could discover a tiny little switch that could make everything change in my life for the better.
Sometimes I think I have found one.
A little choice that transforms my life from undesirable to a gift.
Perhaps I can illustrate my thoughts the best through a little story:
<< The alarm rings in the morning. Woman rolls over, gets out of bed. >>
"Oh dear, I have to get up now. That night was so short! It seems they all are these days. Baby just isn't sleeping well right now. <<pulls at bed covers with a sigh>> I have to make the bed by myself because my husband is busy with his morning. Like always. And now I have to decide what to make for breakfast. It seems like I have to do that every last day of the week, every last week of the month, every last month of the year! Day without end! Sigh. I'm sick and tired of eggs but I have to have protein. I guess that's what we have to eat today because I didn't get a meal list made this week..." (The story continues but this is where I will stop polluting the screen.)
If you ask me, that sounds like a nasty day. A nasty person to spend a day with, in fact. Could somebody turn on the light?
<< The alarm rings. Roll over, give the world a grin, get out of bed. >>
"Wow, it's a new day! I've been looking forward to a new day ever since I went to bed last night! I'm alive! My husband and daughter are as well. What a wonderful day this will be. I'm so glad that I can take care of my daughter. How well I remember the days when I didn't have a baby to take care of; oh, how I longed for a little one to spend night hours with! What a precious season of life I am in. And it's so wonderful how God has such an endless supply of grace for these days of not sleeping very much. Wow. <<pulls the blankets up on the bed>> Husband is so funny with how his long legs un-tuck the sheets on his side every single night! I'm so glad to get to keep the house for such a sweet man. Let's see, what should we eat for breakfast? I'm tired of deciding. But I guess it's actually quite something to even have various options of what to eat for breakfast! I'm so glad we don't eat the same thing every single day. And wow, there are such options for protein in this country for people who need it in the morning like me. Thank You, God, for this luxury that I don't deserve..." et cetera, et cetera.
The situation is exactly the same. The person is the same. The day is the same.
What changed?
Somebody flipped the switch. It's the attitude.
Have to? FLIP.
Get to!
Is it really that easy? You may wonder.
Wouldn't it be so handy if there were a little attitude switch on the wall by the doorway in my house! Some people use another kind of "switch" for these purposes, but that is certainly another discussion for another day. I'm thinking, What if I would make a quick attitude check my habit whenever I flip a light switch? What if I would choose to turn the "Yay! Get-To" attitude on, and the "Sigh. Have-To" attitude off?
I'm not going to tackle all the ins and outs of attitudes and what causes them and the times when that "light switch" feels heavy as a watermelon on your fingertip.
But I will say, that there is something called Repentance, and there is something called your Will; and when activated in conjunction with the Holy Spirit there is a possibility of the inner switch getting flipped and the Negatives disappearing into Positives.
God IS ABLE to change your attitude towards life! He can do lots of wonderful things with your yielded heart.
I find myself somehow living in the dimness of my ratty attitude fairly often and suddenly awakened to the longing for some light in the situation. What will I choose? Have-To? Or Get-To? Negative? Or Positive? Flip, flip. Sometimes it's a simple choice. Sometimes I need to cry out to God to help me because the switch feels far too heavy for me to flip by myself.
Whining and Complaining?
Or Gratitude.
Perfectionism and Failure?
Or Grace.
Cynicism and Ingratitude?
Or Faith.
This rainy Monday, I wonder if there's anybody out there who God would like to take to the doorway and teach a lesson on perspective transformation. I actually know in fact there's one person.
Me.
Free light switch image sourced from Pexels.com
