Affirmations

We all have situations in our life that are difficult.  We talked about that in last week's post.  Some of those situations can feel like grief experiences.  Some of those situations can make us feel all alone in the experience.  Yet in some cases, the difficult experiences involves things which we cannot control, things we can't fix.  They may involve circumstances for which we can only pray.  

I have one such situation in my life, a situation for which I have been praying for the last few years especially.  A book I am reading talks about not getting emotionally bogged down in difficult situations that we can't control or change.  The book goes on to promote making decisions to move ahead with purpose and joy in spite of the situations in life which are out of our control.  

The book also talks about monitoring our thought life and replacing as much as possible our negative thoughts with positive thoughts.  This idea very much mirrors the Scripture passage in Philippians 4:8-9 which says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,  whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."  

The book discussed above also suggests writing some affirmation sentences.  So I will share some of the affirmations I recently penned.  Be you a family caregiver or you are dealing with some other heartache in your life, may these  personal affirmations be helpful to you, and may they inspire you to write your own affirmations.  The edited version of my affirmations that I wrote are in the following paragraphs.

"I will chose  to be thankful today.  All things will fall in place in due time.  I am where I am supposed to be in my life now.  My life has purpose.  I don't need to fear for the future.  God has my entire life planned, and He is in control.  My life is good.  I have a comfortable home and a husband who loves me.  I don't need to have my whole life figured out.  I just need to rest in the Lord and be thankful for the blessings, to be joyful.  I can and need to accept things as they are in trust and joy.  

I am resilient and strong in the Lord.  I can be present and joyful instead of preoccupied and worried when I feel fatigued or face problems.  I need to be very aware of how stress affects my body and to try to not go down that road.  I need to accept what I cannot change and accept the good in others.  Instead of saying, 'I will never-----,' I need to say, 'I will with God's grace---.'

Even if everyone lets me down (And they won't.  There is always someone who is there.), God is still with me.   God won't let me go through anything in my life without His help and the situation growing me.  I will enjoy the present moment.

I will say each morning, 'This will be a good day.'  I will do an activity today that I enjoy.  I will substitute negative thoughts with positive thoughts today.  I will be aware of the blessings of creation today.  I will live today without the situation for which I have been praying a long time seemingly resolved.  I will do this no matter how long it takes for the situation to be resolved or no matter if it ever gets resolved the way I would desire it to be resolved.  No matter what I can still find and have joy in my life."

This blog post was not written to suggest that there is no place for lament or sorrow in our lives.  Many of the Psalms are laments. There are also some very sad situations right now besides the one to which I alluded above in both my husband's and my families which weigh heavily on our hearts.  Yet joy and praise in the midst of difficult times can do much to lift our spirits, and they are pleasing to the Lord.  The Psalms often command a "sacrifice" of thanks to our Lord.  So what affirmations could you pen concerning a troublesome situation you are facing, dear Reader?  Why not write down a few thoughts and trust God to see you through step by step and moment by moment?