Sure there are clouds, but the sun is there too!

"the hope of the righteous brings joy"

Proverbs 10:28

How was your day?  
How is your life? 
How is your job?

If I asked you any of those questions, and we had time for more than the standard "fine" response, what would you say?   Lots of times, the answers we give are along the lines of, "I have a headache," or "man, I can't believe how high the price of gas has gotten" or "I have too much to do and I hate my boss".  Which may all be true, but why is that how we chose to respond?   Why is our summary of a situation so often negative?

To be fair, I really think that sometimes what we mean is something like, "I had a pretty good day, except I had a headache for a lot of it." Or, "Well, gas prices are forcing me to adjust my budget, but it was pretty easy to eliminate one dinner out a month."  We know there are good things along with the bad, but we focus on the bad for some reason.   We may be aware of the good, but we're not acknowledging it.

Look at this:

What do you see?

When I asked my family, my two kids said, "dots" and my hubby said, "bullet holes".  (Good thing it wasn't a Rorshsach test!  He clearly has some issues we need to discuss!)  My Awesome Girl also studied it for awhile before trying to describe what constellation the dots looked like.

But here's what was interesting:  none of them mentioned the white.  They only mentioned the black.  Which is not wrong, but it's also not complete.  And I think each of them would tell you they thought that part went without saying.

But perhaps it shouldn't.  Perhaps that things we think should go without saying, shouldn't.  To each other, to ourselves, or to Him.   I had a great day today.  No pressing issues, which meant I was able to get a little caught up on the laundry, and help my kids get caught up on their schooling after a crazy couple of days.   We did some chores, watched a little TV, and read a little.  Amazing Boy had a baseball game this evening, which they won.  My hubby, the Apple of my Eye, worked today, which is always a blessing.  We had three meals and snacks, a roof over our heads, two mischievous and loving pets, good weather, clothes to wear, working appliances and cars, our health and the health of our families, supportive friends, a great church, fulfilling ministries, and comfortable furniture.  I saw several birds, a butterfly, some amazing clouds and a beautiful sunset.  Each member of my family, unbidden, told me they love me.

Oh, and I had a headache today.  But that seems hardly worth mentioning, now that I think about it...

"Then God saw everything that He had made, 

and indeed, it was very good."

Genesis 1:31