My "glass" view

Is your glass half empty or half full?

This is a common question that has been passed down through the ages. I don't know where it began, but it has been an analogy that remains constant in life. (Mine, and most others' lives.) So, I want to reflect on that question for today.

I'd like to be able to say that I am a glass half full gal. However, I suppose it depends on through which glass I am looking at that moment. At work, I tend to be a glass half full gal. When it's busy, I can easily say I like it and the time passes quickly. When piles of dishes are pushed at me to polish, I do sort of groan, but as I have said in  a past blog Monotony to beautiful waves, I have learned to make those moments become prayerful and reflective times. And when the lines push through to the back of the shop, I smile and multitask that because I actually enjoy that push.

However, if you ask me in other areas if I look at things half empty or half full, I'd have to admit to you that I look at it half empty.
  A broken friendship.
    An argument.
       A negative word.
          An exhausting day.
             Less money.
                Change.
However, a good friend and mentor has been helping me redirect those thoughts and to have them become half full glass thoughts.

Instead of seeing the friends who have disappointed me, left me or made me feel less than a good person, I need to see the friends who have stuck by my side and those friends who I do hang onto. Or even seeing it as a beautiful season in which I was able to have a certain friendship and grow and learn though that person, even if time or circumstances then put distance there.

Instead of seeing the argument, to see the depth of growth that comes from that. What did I learn? What good came from that?
  Instead of hearing the negative word, I need to hold onto the positive ones. I don't do this well, I admit. I dwell on the negative said to me. I internalize it. But that is not what God says to do. And so I strive to let go of it and see  what was positivly said to me that day.

Exhausting days happen. And for me, I can easily get caught up in that. Feeling tired and overwhelmed. Too many tasks with too few hands and too little time. However, I can look at that so differently. Thank you, Lord, that I am healthy and can get up at 4 every day and run. Thank you for my legs to move me and my hands to propel my movements. Thank you for a job . Thank you for a home in which I can do laundry. Thank you for a dishwasher, so I don't have to wash by hand. Thank you, Lord, for a body that is strong. Tired? yes. But thankful for all the gifts in my day that may lead to that exhaustion.

Less money? Well....I covered that a little in a previous blog, but honestly, as stressful as that can be at times, it can be a blessing. A lesson to teach the kids how to handle finances. A moment for me to realize what is truly important. A simple evening of games, trampoline fun, and snuggling on the couch instead of running around. A glass half full.

And as far as change goes....I have learned that change is one constant aspect of life.  To see that half full can be a challenge. However, change molds me. Change brings me closer to God. Change can be exciting, if I allow it. It can become an adventure instead of a dreaded event. A glass half full.

So, looking at a glass as half full rather than half empty is a challenge for me. Choosing to praise God instead of complain is not always easy for me. But I am striving towards that direction. It doesn't mean I  have to say "Thank you so much for all this change and thank you that I am so tired and feeling defeated by these negative times...." But what it means to me is that I can change my outlook on what I am seeing......I can find the positives. I can praise God for what is  good instead of telling Him everything that isn't. One day at a time. One minute at a time, even. I can start to see the glass as half full. And honestly, when I change my glass view to seeing it through God's eyes, the glass becomes entirely full. Not even just half full, but entirely full. God becomes enough for me, which fills me. Although I have to say often "God, You are enough for me." and it is hard to embrace that, He is enough. When things seem half empty, He makes them totally full, when I allow Him to do so.