HAPPINESS in the New Year

I don’t know about you but I’m ready to say “Good-bye” to 2018. This past year has felt like one endless struggle to keep afloat in the tumultuous waters of life. And let me tell you, treading water has never been my strong suit.

So as the clock ticks toward midnight, I’m looking forward to kicking 2018 to the curb.

Sayonara.

See ya.

Good riddance!

The problem is, though, flipping the calendar page does not ensure that the struggles of the old year, the messes, the dilemmas, the hurts, are going to disappear.

If only it were that simple.

But the coming of a new year, a new beginning, gives us the perfect opportunity to embrace a different outlook, to change the way we view our world and to embrace the hope of good things to come.

Happiness can be yours – and mine – in 2019. It’s true! (I’m beginning to sound like an infomercial! For just one down payment of $19.99 and 3 monthly payments of $49.99, you, too, can find your bliss in the new year!! Ha! Ha! I need to be in bed. 😉 )

Seriously. No matter your circumstances, no matter the struggles that are following you into the new year, the one thing that can make the difference between faltering under the heavy burdens of the past year (or years) and freeing yourself from binding chains allowing you to live each day of the new year (and years to come) to the fullest is…

… your perspective.

Problems will always abound. How you approach them is key. Do you buckle under their weight and succumb to the siren song of “Woe is me”? Or do you search for the lesson behind the struggles and look forward to the wisdom and growth you will gain from your endurance?

Don’t spend your new year throwing pity parties! Happiness cannot live where complaining takes up residency.

Embrace the struggles as growth opportunities. Step back and look for the big picture. And remember, these situtations are only temporary.

God’s Word says this:

“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Well, the sound of rockets bursting in the air tells me that we’ve completed another trip around the sun. WooHoo! It’s a new year and as we begin this next revolution, let’s remember to keep our focus on the eternal unseen – the hope of “an absolutely eternal weight of glory.” That’s it right there, folks. Your new perspective for 2019!

How can you change your perspective in 2019? Do you have any problems, situations or people that you need to view in a different light?

*****When you have a moment, go check out the post, Lean Into Loneliness, by Dr. Andrea Dinardo at Thriving Under Pressure.  What an inspiration it was for me this week and a reminder to “make the space for the lesson beneath the suffering.”*****

Happy, Happy New Year!

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A Year of Smiles – Day 311

Reason to SMILE #311: THE VIEW

This is my view in the mirror in the restroom at work:

This is my view in the mirror in the restroom at the local putt-putt center:

Being short has it’s disadvantages – especially when I’m trying to see ALL of me in a mirror made for tall people! It’s tough to powder my nose, check my teeth for food or make sure my clothes are as they should be when all I can see is the top of my head. You should see me stretching on my tippy-toes to make myself tall enough to see my entire face or climbing up on top of the bathroom cabinets or fixtures to get a better view of all of me. It’s pretty hilarious!

<SIGH>

Most days, though, I simply settle for the limited view in my itty, bitty makeup mirror.

Nose too shiny? Nope. Teeth okay? Yep. Wait. What happened to my other earring? One piece of me at a time is all I can see so the best I can do is get each feature just right and trust that in doing so, the whole of me will be fine.

Reminds me a little bit of our view of life. We don’t always get the entire picture. We  have to settle for a small piece at a time – the view that’s lying directly before us. This limited view makes it difficult to feel at ease sometimes. We stress because we want to see the whole layout, what’s happening next, how the situations of today are going to be resolved and what the end result of our life will be.

That’s not how life works, though, is it? We have to learn to be okay with one snippet at a time. And we can find peace in knowing that God can see it all. The Alpha and Omega has the best vantage point ever! When we leave the big picture of life to God, we’re free to focus on what’s lying directly in front of us for it’s our current situations that are preparing us for what lies ahead.

One day all of the snippets and scenes of life will be pieced together for us to see. And if we’ve done our best to live out each moment in the way that is pleasing to God, the big picture will not only make us SMILE but our Heavenly Father will be SMILING as well.