The Battle to be Positive

My husband had a nickname as a boy.  His mom called him the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" boy... like the song.  My husband is the most mild mannered man I have ever met.  He is calm and just naturally sees the bright side of things.  He sees the glass as half full, the best in others, and trust God implicitly.

I have learned a lot from my husband.

I am not naturally a positive and calm person.  I have to work at it... sometimes very hard.  The battle in my mind to be positive is an ongoing thing.  I tend to see the negative, the problems, the frustrations.  I don't like this about myself.  I grew up with this attitude around me,  and picked up those horrible patterns.  Trying to break them, to not pass them on to my children, is a daily battle as I train my mind to think the way God wants me to think.

In order to change a behavior or habit, you have to not like it.  I realized that my negative attitude is sin.  That took a lot because I rationalized it, made excuses, and didn't want to see my own issues in this area.  Like my struggle with anger, which is a by-product of a negative attitude, I had to come face-to-face with my own failings in this area in light of Scripture.  What I realized is that most of the negativity in my mind is the result of Pride.  It may have been thought patterns picked up from childhood through adulthood, but the root of it is still pride.

I spend a lot of time praying in this area.  I have seen how my attitude hurts those around me when I am negative.  I have also seen that, when I am negative, I am not trusting my Savior.  I am out of fellowship with Him.  It is difficult to be negative and be in fellowship with Jesus at the same time.  It is impossible to worship Him and be negative.

The more realizations I come to about attitudes, the more I realize how very important it is to be in and meditate on God's Word.  So often, in the past, I would skip time with God because I put other things first.  Now, the more I try to remain consistent in my time in prayer, in the Word, and in meditating on Scripture, the more I notice that the thoughts in my head and the words of my mouth are changed for the better. 

It isn't always easy to look for the positive, to find time amidst a busy schedule for devotion time, to change years of negative thought patterns.  I can't do it on my own.  However, I have help.  I have my very positive husband to influence and support me.  Even more, I have my Savior to hold me up.