Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | Is your life right now a “bed of roses” free of all problems?  “Are you kidding?” I can hear you say. “Right now I can’t even remember what a rose smells like!”

I’ve noticed through my own painful experiences, however, that sometimes we get stuck in our pain.  By that I mean that we take the attitude, “I refuse to feel better until this situation that can’t be changed is changed.” When we do this, we are painting ourselves into an emotional corner—like a friend of mine who painted the surface of a swimming pool, starting at the shallow end. When he finished, he had nowhere to go—and neither do we if we refuse to accept the inevitable.

The second thought that helps me when I am stuck in pain is this: no one is responsible for my feelings except me—hurt, helplessness and resentment are my responsibility. I may not be able to change the circumstances, but I can choose my attitude toward them.

Someone sent me a humorous email called “Attitude is Everything!” It seems a woman woke up one morning and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. “Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today.”  She did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. “Hmm, I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today.” And she had a grand day. The next day she woke up and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. “Well, today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail.” And she had a great day. The fourth day she woke up and saw that there wasn’t a single hair on her head. “Yeah!” she exclaimed, “I don’t have to fix my hair today!”[i]

The Bible says “Be made new in the attitude of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23). Good advice for all of us today!

[i] Original source unknown.