Our reactions and responses to life and all that life brings us (good and bad) determine who we are and how we live our lives.
Blaming others for our situations or problems does nothing but point fingers and waste time.
Dwelling on the negative, on slights, on attacks against us will lead to us having a bitter or resentful heart.
The pure in heart shall see God (that's from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount). Our hearts will stay pure through even the vilest circumstances if we keep focused on Christ and love Him and others with everything we have.
Life isn't about us.
Life is about God and being in relationship with Him.
Anything that takes us from what life is about is distraction and will eventually bring heartache or heart-hardness.
"The joy of the Lord is my strength!"
Live for this moment.
I get a prayer guide from Samaritan's Purse every two months. Each time a new week begins the guide shares a story from some aspect of the ministry. This week the story is of Sudan and South Sudan. The Sudanese government is bombing its own people. So, many of them are living in caves and many also travel to South Sudan to get food and provision. For this situation has brought starvation to the people in horrific ways.
I tell you this because the picture that accompanies this story is of a group of children in a cave. They are wearing torn and dirty clothing. They are obviously needy, but they have smiles on their faces. They are living in a frightening place. They are not getting enough food. They are running for their lives. But they are still smiling.
Could we do that?
Could I do that?
Are we doing that in our own lives while we deal with daily problems, challenges, unkind people?