Till Seldom is Heard

Our world, of late, is filled with discouraging news. Hearts grow heavy over this bombing or that weather event; tragedies follow one after another like words on a page. As if this isn’t enough, we also struggle with personal issues – shaky marriages, slumping careers, debt, poor health, family dysfunction – striving to get ahead, get hold of ourselves, to control our own destinies.

I don’t have all the answers, only encouragement. I’m right there with you, struggling, so this little pep talk is self-help as well. One thing I do know is this too shall pass. And it will pass more amiably if we do the hard work of looking for what is already good.

“Fix your thoughts on whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” – Phil. 4:8


It’s not a simple fix, this recipe for living well. It’s a starting point. A perspective from which to view the world in more favorable light. There will still be struggles and things we can’t control. But if we engage life with a positive attitude, and actively participate with a clear vision for the future, we’ll paint our world as we would like to see it.

Sometimes it will get messy, but as I tell my kids, “If you make a mess clean it up. And even if you didn’t make it, you can still help.” That, and “stop whining, start doing.”

Things can get better. It’s up to us to see and make them that way.

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