My dad always says this;
You woke up; how bad can today be?
Sometimes just the idea that I’ve woken up is the most horrible thing in the world. Not that I go to sleep hoping to not wake up, but sometimes I wake up, stare at the ceiling and think “He didn’t come back like a thief in the night?”
Lately I’ve been working on my optimism. Awhile ago I stood in the laundromat, watching a pink rocket circle inside the dryer, and had this idea of what optimism is. Optimism is a stubborn little seed that springs up wherever it’s planted, regardless of the climate. Then I thought “The more I wait for a better situation to arrive that will allow me to be optimistic, the more I wonder if I am missing the point altogether.”
So here I am, working on my optimism. And you know what has helped the most with keeping me optimistic?
Breakfast.
..and not just any breakfast, but a breakfast where I drip food on my Bible and I read a few devotionals and I write a few words. Don’t go thinking I’m ultra-holy or anything, because I don’t have bacon-and-eggs-and-Scripture for breakfast every day. Only on my best days, the days where I am really needing to be grounded and have had a few days of dying optimism.
This whole experience, the living in California thing, has brought me so much closer to my parents, particularly my father. Since he returned from jail, our relationship has been founded on the Lord and we have discussed Scripture and prayed together and wrestled out tough thoughts. So as I’ve been sharing with him how hard this time is for me, we got on the subject of food. How I’ve been learning to live simply. My dad said that there is one thing he always has in his kitchen: eggs. I excitedly declared “me too! eggs and coffee!”
There’s something about knowing you can wake up and make yourself eggs and drink a cup of coffee and read your Bible and be satisfied in all areas of your life before even leaving the house that makes every day seem that much more bearable.
Also, this song.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5fXhoxJqQQ]
I usually listen to the song driving to Torrance on Monday nights for Bible study, in my car that needs new tires and a wheel alignment. That has a battery that probably needs replaced and definitely needs an oil change. Using gas money that probably would have been better in my car and not on the road. so I quickly become worried and anxious and stressed, and I listen to this song and everything gets put in perspective.
This morning has been easy to be optimistic. Yesterday I got paid for babysitting and have enough money to get those problems with my car fixed. This morning I got paid a little for early morning babysitting. I slept in, and woke up to two out of the blue text messages from people I enjoy hearing from. I got a phone call from Bramwell, who sang me a song. Then I made coffee and ate toast and scheduled an appointment to get my car fixed tomorrow. and I’m wearing my favorite shirt, my “SEATTLE: when it rains, we pour” shirt.
Days like today make it easy to rejoice in the day, but days like today make it easier to rejoice in the days where optimism seems impossible.
Tomorrow come right back here for the 2nd week of the Saturday Acts Bible Study, hosted by yours truly. Looking forward to it!
Rejoice and be glad in it.
