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At Times A Little Positive Comment Helps

There are times we need a little uplift.

The day was full of errands, a little of this and a little of that. So, I’m entering a busy intersection and will have to stop at a lengthy red light. I sigh an inescapable groan to myself, there he is again. The same young man is on the same island. I will be parked next to him for a few minutes. He knows how to do it well, panhandling with a smile . . . and with a Chihuahua in his arms that has a cute red neckerchief. I’m second in the row and have the car’s windows down due to my car’s AC being out.

He’s got a great smile and curly black hair to his shoulders, black beard and is dressed casual-messy. He chats with me a little and I mention his pet. I’m sure he notices I’m not offering any cash but continues to converse with me until a pickup truck pulls up behind me. He smiles at me, then as he starts to leave, he says to me, “Stay beautiful,” and down the line he goes.

He is friendlier than most, and I find myself smiling at the words he just said to me, “Stay beautiful.” I like them, of course they make me feel beautiful like I’m not in my sixties (then) and in a car that is hotter than the blazes and makes me perspire. The words are like “Take care.” But they seem better to me. I have been down in the dumps and those two words lift my spirits.

God uses people like that to cheer us up. The cashier that says, “Thank you, Miss” when you usually hear, “Thank you, Ma’am’” makes my day brighter. It’s so simple, really. The difference between Miss and Ma’am. Words and smiles, greetings and good cheer, even from a panhandler, can improve our outlook and make the day sing. “Stay beautiful, ya’ here.”

If we each would take the challenge to make the day brighter for the people we meet then we have made their day better. We look up and smile. We help carry their packages and it matters. There are a bazillion ways we can make the day better around us. The nice thing is when we help others, we make our day better. Some people do it naturally, it is part of their nature. Then others, like me, have to work at it. I tend to be way too serious. But I can smile, I can help, I can make the day go better for someone else and for myself, if I choose to. In fact, I will!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

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What Does ‘Letting Go’ Mean?

I’ve been skipping around in a book that I got from someone long ago. The author shares her heartache of having a husband who cheated and excused and blamed her for his problem with sexual addiction. She stayed with him but she learned the hard truth of how it is up to you to deal with it. At the end of the book she shares the following words that were given to her. It struck me. Maybe it will strike you. God makes beauty from ashes.

Take it to heart…it really means “To Let Go.”

Let Go . . .

  • To “let go” is not to cut myself off; it’s the realization I can’t control another.
  • To “let go” is not to try and change or blame another; it’s to make the best of myself.
  • To “let go” is not to fix, but to be supportive.
  • To “let go” is not to care for, but to care about.
  • To “let go” is not to judge, but to let another be a human being.
  • To “let go” is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
  • To “let go” is not to be protective; it’s to permit another way to face reality.
  • To “let go” is not to deny, but to accept.
  • To “let go” is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
  • To “let go” is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
  • To “let go” is not to criticize and regulate anybody, but to try to become what I dream I can be.
  • To “let go” is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
  • To “let go” is to fear less and love more.
  • To “let go” is to let God.
  • To “let go” is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

From An Affair of the Mind by Laurie Hall p. 233-234.

Back a couple of decades ago I learned a lot about “letting go.” I was in a hard place. I didn’t know whether to move forward or to forget the whole thing. I kept my stuff to myself, thinking that was the best thing to do. Also, I was hurting in a major way. It was so major I didn’t think I could share without breaking and falling apart (which was probably true). Later, when I had to face it, God helped me. He worked beyond what I could have conceived as possible. There are some things that only God can fix. We try, but our efforts mean little. God will, and can, make beauty from ashes. He works in His way, His time, and His best. I learned to trust Him. I’m so glad I did. Blessings to you, Norma.

Let go and let God.