Monday, October 19, 2015

When Bad is Good


 One of the earliest of my husband's seventeen books is titled, "What Happens to Good People When Bad Things Happen?" and I know that this title holds a question that we can still ask today.  The answer of course, "they become better people."  
The Bible tells us that the "rain falls on the just and the unjust" so why are some doubtful people so quick to blame God when something bad happens to them and when things are going great they refuse to thank God and give Him the credit?  It may be that it's just human nature and so much easier to find someone to hold responsible for unpleasantries or worse yet, terrible disasters- because we just have to find a reason or an explanation for things going bad.  
 What do we do when bad things happen to us?  We should pray more and we should seek wise counsel while realizing that we are only passing "through"our valley, not being dumped there.  We should only share with trusted confidants knowing that not everyone has our best interests at heart.  Proceeding with caution and faith while going through rough situations can make-or-break a day, a week, a month, a year, or a lifetime.  

 Re-framing is a very common practice for psychologists. It's basically taking a situation and looking at it a different way or trying to see the good in something bad.   I try to re-frame in my daily life.   I am also known as a "connector" so it's probably easier for me to see the whys and try to figure out how a challenging situation connects me to the future and helps me grow as a person.   Visualizing a positive outcome to a negative situation is called "faith" and it's really what has helped me through life.  Of course, it all starts with prayer and trust that God has got it all handled even when I don't!  I know I've said it before but if you have believed the statement, "God never gives you more than you can handle" I want to tell you again that it's not true!  He does give you more than you can handle but "God will not give you more than HE can handle."  Trust, Faith, Prayer, Assurance, and Hope are all words to ponder, practice, and hold on to.  This orientation in life can help turn your "bad" into "good." 

Last weekend I was at a fabulous women's event.  "Imagine" was held at Newport Church in Newport Beach, California and I was so impressed and blessed with one of the strong, reoccurring messages of the day, "Happily Ever After."   They even sold great-looking shirts with the slogan printed on them.  Happily Ever After is God's plan for our future. We all guess at what our future holds and sometimes it can be scary.  If we put our trust in the one who created us and keep on "praying like it all depends on God, and working like it all depends on us" we will live happier and healthier lives.  And we can be assured that others around us will benefit from our attitude and we will finish well. 


 If you'd like to listen to the podcast from our CALL please go to: 
 Our last call was with Dr. Paul Murray and he discusses his book, "Broken, Picking Up The Pieces After The Fall."

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1 comment:

  1. A Gr8 post, Donna! Especially the part "What do we do when bad things happen to us? We should pray more and we should seek wise counsel while realizing that we are only passing "through"our valley, not being dumped there". Certainly there are tragic things that happen but even in daily life, we end up having lost a job, a house, lost a treasured possession and it has seemed like we were crushed or certainly in tears, angered or embarrassed! But we all had a new opportunity through whatever happened. Did we take it? Did we calm down and let God's "voice" and wisdom be heard. HE always shows a new door. I know I had a time of job loss and it was the best change ever, once I calmed down. I had 20 yrs with the company that was sold and I not to be part of the new plans but I had 2 kids and a wife, mortgage etc. I had severance and was tempted to get a new job right away but...A little voice when I woke a few days later reminded me I had always missed having enough time with my daughters and I decided to not look for new employment for 6 mths. I took the kids to school or was there when they got home, my wife had wanted to try a job at Girl Guides running a store, and summer was coming. After the summer, I called contacts from my career and in 3 days, several calls came. I was hired and had a better position, a higher salary and I had memories of a great time with my children.

    God never puts you in the valley as Donna reminded us, but leads us through it if we trust HIM, be patient and confident in ourselves family and friends! Carpe Diem. And remember God gave us the present and tomorrows to make it good in His honour.

