Blessing or Bad Luck?

Sharing this little lesson with you today, courtesy of Alan Smith's "Thought for the Day".  Used with permission.

BLESSING OR BAD LUCK?

    The story is told of a man who was walking across the road when he was hit by a car.  The impact knocked him on his head which caused him to be in a coma for two days before he finally regained consciousness.  When he opened his eyes, his loving wife was there beside his bed.  He held her hand and said to her:

    "You know, Judy, you've always been right by my side.  When I was a struggling college student, I failed again and again.  But you were always there with me, encouraging me to go on trying."

    She squeezed his hands as he continued:  "And when I got out of school and went for all of my interviews and failed to get any of the jobs, you stayed right there with me, cutting out more classifieds for me to check on..."

    "Then I started work at this little firm and finally got the chance to handle a big contract.  But I blew it because of one little mistake, and yet you were there beside me all the way.  Then I finally got another job after being laid off for sometime.  But I never seemed to be promoted and my hard work was never recognized.  And so, I remained in the same position from the day I joined the company until now... And, through it all, you were right there by my side."

    Her eyes brimmed with tears as she listened to her husband:  "And now I've been in this accident and when I woke up, you're the first person I see. There's something I'd really like to say to you...."

    She flung herself on the bed to hug her husband, sobbing with emotion.

    He said, "Judy, I think you're just plain bad luck!"

    Our attitude makes a big difference in how we see things, doesn't it?  As the saying goes, we can either see the glass as half full or half empty.  We can either appreciate the good during our times of adversity (the faithfulness of God, greater opportunities to develop our faith, the blessing of good friends to see us through it) or we can moan and complain about our "bad luck."

    The apostle Paul is a great example of someone with a marvelous attitude. Through all of his trials, God had been right there by his side.  But never once did he blame God for his misfortune.  Instead, listen to the positive attitude in Paul's words as he sat imprisoned for preaching the gospel:

    "But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel." (Philippians 1:12)

    No moaning, no complaining.  Just a marvelous attitude that brought joy to his life.  May it serve as an example to you today.