The other day, my stepdaughter and I were about to run into the store for a few groceries, but as we were getting out of the car she hesitated.
She said that she wanted to bring in the stuffed animal her mom had bought her the previous day and the fish that I just got her, but she was worried that the people in the store might think she was spoiled.
Our 9 year-old was worrying about what people would say.
It really caught me off-guard. When I told her to bring them both in and not to worry about what other people think, she said, "Yeah - if they say I'm spoiled, I'll just tell them that's what happens when you have two moms!"
Haa- It was pretty darn cute to hear her find her ‘positive’, but the unfortunate side to all this was that our little girl is beginning to worry about others think of her.
As adults, we all know that people are going to have opinions. Even when we find ourselves happy, there will always be someone, somewhere, that can find the negative in a situation.
My job as a mom? It’s to remind our kids
(like we should remind ourselves)
to focus on the positive
&&&
to enjoy our blessings!
She IS spoiled -
because she has a lot of people in her life who love her very much!
She IS spoiled -
because God has blessed her in many ways.
Recently, I heard Joel Osteen say,
"Wear your blessings well."
It was such a good reminder.
At times, I too, find myself concerned...
What if my words don’t come out right and I hurt someone’s feelings? What if someone twists my words? Maybe I shouldn't mention the vacation we are going on, does it sound like I'm bragging? Maybe I shouldn't express how happy my marriage is because it might make someone else feel bad about their situation? Maybe we shouldn’t do this for our kids because we might offend the other parents?
Or maybe I should?
What does “Wear your blessings well” mean?
It means…
Owning our happiness!
We shouldn’t feel guilty about being happy.
We shouldn’t second guess ourselves - if we meant well.
There are going to be
those days when life gets to us...
when we are stressed and have a hard time finding the happy thoughts,
those are the days we should fight what we are feeling.
We should always fight to overcome the negative.
BUT
when we are happy...
There are going to be
those days when life gets to us...
when we are stressed and have a hard time finding the happy thoughts,
those are the days we should fight what we are feeling.
We should always fight to overcome the negative.
BUT
when we are happy...
We shouldn’t hide our happiness -
Because then we are just minimizing God's goodness -
If we want to carry, share, wear, say, do, express the things that make us happy -
WE SHOULD.
God has blessed me.
He has blessed you.
Just in different ways - on different days!
Whether we choose to focus on what is good (or not) is up to us!
Whether we choose to praise Him for it (or not) is up to us!
We might run the risk of giving people something to talk about,
but my guess is that people will talk regardless.
I’m happy today.
And guess what --- I’m owning it! J
I hope you do too.
xo
