A Living Example of Gratitude

     From time to time, if we are very fortunate, we are blessed to know someone who is a brilliant example of "grace under pressure,"  "gratitude in the midst of adversity."  This is my friend, Rosie.  Rosie recently completed chemo therapy treatment following cancer.  She also suffers from multiple sclerosis.  She has weathered numerous difficulties in her life, yet Rosie usually seems so, well, rosy.  She has a determined spirit, and one of her greatest determinations is to be grateful and cheerful, no matter what may be going on.  She tells me that two of her favorite phrases from the scriptures are, "be of good cheer"  and  "it came to pass."  "Not," she emphasizes, "it came to stay."

     I was chatting on the phone with her the other day, and when I expressed my admiration for her positive outlook, she was quick to say, "Oh, that's not really me speaking.  That's God.  He gives me the strength to face each day and be happy.  It does take effort, but He makes it possible.  I figure,"  she goes on, "if I wake up in the morning and read the newspaper and my name isn't in the obituaries or the police log life is good."

     Rosie certainly has a great attitude!  I am especially impressed that she takes none of the credit for her optimistic approach to life, though she could--for, as she says, "it does take effort."  But, for Rosie, first and foremost, the honor goes to God.  He is helping her though every trial and supporting and lifting her up to rise above her difficulties. 
     I have known this good woman for many years, and though I've seen her at some of her most discouraging moments, she has always chosen to leave pessimism behind, to refocus and adopt a hopeful outlook.  In other words, yes, I have seen her discouraged and confused, but it has always been within the context of looking for the best way to approach her concerns and solve them.  Self-pity is short lived; anger is absent; she is just seeking after the right way.  Is this ability to readjust and adopt a positive perspective a gift, or a well-honed skill she has acquired as she has valiantly faced and wrestled down the challenges life has sent her way?  Probably some of both, for life has sent her what I consider a disproportionately large share of woe.  

     When I think of her many trials and how she handles them, I think of the account in the New Testament when the disciples asked the Lord, concerning the blind man,  "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?   Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him"  (John 9:2-3).  

     I often wonder if Rosie's remarkable way of deflecting life's slings and arrows is so that others around her can see God working through her, and hear her say,   "That's not really me speaking.  That's God.  He gives me the strength to face each day and be happy.  It does take effort, but He makes it possible."   

     In my opinion, His works and His love are manifest through this good woman.  Her attitude of gratitude, and her positive outlook are a testimony that His spirit abides in her, because she invites it and then acknowledges its presence.  It is also a testimony to His involvement and concern for her--and for each of us.  I will always count Rosie's friendship among the sweetest gifts I have received to help me travel through life with greater optimism and success.


TODAY'S  GENTLE  ENCOURAGEMENT:  Check today's paper.  Is your name in the obituary column?  Cheer up, you still have lots to live for!