Eternal optimist is a label I have given myself. It certainly wasn’t always that way. And, sometimes it takes half a day for me to think of things that bring me joy. I usually succeed – but there are also days when I am perfectly happy being miserable. Thankfully those days don’t happen often.
A by-product of my optimism is that there are times when I am working or doing random activities and I get a sense, or a feeling, of overwhelming joy for no apparent reason! Perhaps it is the onset of some sort of craziness. But, I choose to embrace those moments. Most of the time it is just some routine activity – like “I get to watch Jeopardy with Rick tonight”!! Now that is something to get excited about!
For so many years I was unacceptable to myself. Period. In my mind, other people surely saw me the same way. It was a paralyzing way to live. What other people thought of me – or what I perceived they thought of me – was all consuming. I am so thankful to NOT feel that way anymore.
Knowing how God sees me has without a doubt brought about this change in my perception of myself. It’s not that I, as a human being, don’t have faults. Everyone does after all. But God sees me as perfect in every way. I don’t think I could have come to that realization without first becoming a mom. After all, my kids are perfect! The world may disagree with me, but in my eyes they are without flaw. Perfect creations.
I have so much to be thankful for that there are not enough hours in a day to describe them all. Today I am thankful that I no longer hate who I am and for being blessed with random joyfulness. I am eternally optimistic that tomorrow will bring another round of thankfulness and joy!
Now, if I could just get randomly joyful about exercise… I’ll let you know when it happens.
sandybethland 