Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Most of Our Problems Are Annoyances

 Hey there blog family. Today's bike took me from Farmville to the little depot town of Rice, VA.

As you can see, about midway I crossed the Appomattox.

Once in Rice I turned around. My total mileage was just over 16 miles.

As I rode along my mind went to this past weekend. I still can't get over the event in Virginia Beach last Saturday. I still can't get Team Hoyt out of my mind. These wonderful athletes competed in wheelchairs pushed by their loved ones. What stood out most to me were their smiles. They weren't whining about their lot in life. They weren't complaining about what could have been. I hope I can be more like them. I want to stop complaining about my weaknesses. I want to turn them into strengths, like the apostle Paul did. I want to work hard for the things I value and believe in. I want to smile more and gripe less.

It's not that I don't believe in God. I do -- provided he meets my expectations and doles out health and happiness. How much of a God is he if can't solve all of my problems? The amazing thing is that it's in my power to decide what my attitude will be. In fact, that's what the Lord was convicting me of during my Bible time this morning in Philippians 4. The fact is, most of the problems we major on are mere annoyances. They're hardly worth complaining about yet we dwell on them. That's why Paul says we are to dwell instead on the positives -- things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise. A lot of these virtues were on full display at last Saturday's race. There the Lord provided me with a big enough peek into the goings on of a good and loving God to occupy me till he comes.

Which is another reason I love to run and I love to compete. A race is a reminder that I'm not quite "there" yet. I don't even come close to Paul's standards of contentment in Philippians 4. Only Jesus can help me get off of failure's merry-go-round. I just have to take his outstretched hand.