Have Faith - October Edition

Day 24 & 25
Even the puddles can sustain life...
Puddles...
One of the things that is really hard to do is
see the good in bad. When things go wrong,
really wrong, it seems just about impossible
that things will ever be good again. I, for one,
have felt that on numerous occasions. But I
do believe that after dark there is always
light. Just recently, I had to go into town to
get a few necessities. The rain was coming
down in bucket loads and I knew I was in for
a soaking. I got to the shop in a totally foul
mood, got what I needed in a real grump and
set off back home. To my delight, when I got
outside, the rain had stopped and the sky
was clearing beautifully. Although I could feel
my socks soaking my poor feet, I started to
feel a little better. On my way home I saw a
huge puddle and a thought came to my
mind. It struck me how everybody avoids
puddles because they are cold and wet and,
frankly, a real pain in the feet. But by avoiding
them we miss their beauty. I looked into
this puddle and saw an incredible reflection
Pride...
Here is another one of those minefields that
I like walking in so much. Are you an optimist
or a pessimist? Arguments are strong
for both cases. I love the old saying 'Is the
glass half empty or half full?' What do you
think? Personally, I would like to think that
the glass is completely full. 50% water to
drink and 50% air that we can breathe. But
that's just me. I read an interesting quote
which says 'The pessimist sees the difficulty
in every opportunity while the optimist sees
the opportunity in every difficulty.' That particular
quote got me thinking for quite a
while about my own views. For me, that
saying said that optimists have faith. The
more I think about that, the more I believe
it. As a soldier, I think we all have to be optimists
or how do we justify what we are
doing without faith and hope that after the
battle things will be better. We have to believe
that or we wouldn't fight. My fight,
these days, is that someone will read the
things I write, whether it be my reflections,
Luke 1: 79
of the sky. It completely bowled me over. In
that moment I truly believed that in this cold,
wet puddle on the ground God was showing
me heaven. Now, you may be saying to yourself
that he's lost the plot but the truth is that
puddle lifted my heart when I was feeling
pretty unhappy. I don't look at puddles in the
same way anymore. One of my favourite
Bible chapters sums this up really nicely for
me. It is at 2 Corinthians 4:6. It says "For
God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness,"
is the One who has shone in our
hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Christ". What
this tells me is, no matter how bad life can
get, no matter how low we feel, no matter
what the world throws at us, a time will return
when we will be happy again. Oh yes, the
next time you see a puddle, stop and look at
it and if you feel the urge, do what Gene
Kelly did in 'Singing in the Rain'. Just make
sure nobody is watching!
Proverbs 11: 2
my magazine, my songs and poetry, and
find some comfort or help in the words. I
have to believe that will happen or there's
no point in doing it. Having Faith and believing
in what we do is such an important
part of our makeup, it gives us the drive to
go on and the strength to succeed in whatever
we do. Biblical optimism is the result of
faith in the character of God. The Bible
refers to this as “hope.” Romans 15:13 says,
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace as you trust in him, so that you may
overflow with hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit.” When we hope in God, we put our
trust in His sovereign plan above what our
circumstances tell us. Romans 8:23–35 explains
it this way: “But hope that is seen is
no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already
have? But if we hope for what we do
not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Paul is
speaking of our future reward and the things
that “God has prepared for those who love
him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
| 22 Have Faith