Counting Instead of Complaining

Have you ever had “one of THOSE days.”? I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about…those days when nothing seems to go right. It’s the type of day when “bad” goes to “worse” and you wonder if the day will ever end.  On one particular day, I experienced this to its fullest. I was sleep depraved from spending the prior two days at the hospital with my daughter, so I woke up kind of grouchy.  Then, of course, it was the one day of the week that I had to be at work the earliest. I spent a great part of my day battling with a printer that had a mind of its own, and it decided that I would get absolutely NO printing done.  My frustration level was rising like the tide, and I had three hours of Vacation Bible School to tackle after my non-productive work day. To say I was dreading it would be an understatement.  

I made it through VBS.  Those sweet little kiddos were such a blessing.  It is so awesome to see children excited about Jesus, and wanting to know more. It is incredible to see a church family working together to make such an impact for Christ in the community.  I left my house at 8:00 a.m. that day. I returned home at 8:45 p.m. It was a long day.  Upon returning home, I had another frustrating task to take care of. In my frustration, and exhaustion, I got grumpy. Does this sound like any day in your life?

I raised my voice at the one person who loves me unconditionally. I took my bad day out on a man who would do anything to make my day brighter. In my frustration, I gave him a verbal list of all the “junk” I had been through that made my day so rough.  

His response, ”That is the devil and you need to rebuke him. You are giving him control over your day.”  

There it was…a thought that I hadn’t even considered. I wanted to blame this or that on my bad day, when really it was just the devil trying to steal my joy. He was trying to distract me from my work, from my time at VBS sharing the love of God with children, and from my family in our last hour before bedtime.  The enemy had a foothold in my day, and I had allowed him to get in. In the course of my frustrating day, I had forgotten my favorite bible verse, the one that helps me through my tough times:

”Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.”  (Philippians 4:8)

I had forgotten to think on the good things. I was so busy counting my problems that I forgot to count my blessings. Do you ever forget to count your blessings? Do you give the devil a foothold in your moments of frustration? Do the ones around you pay the price for your rough day?  

Let’s not forget to think on the good things. Let’s not forget to remember our blessings, remember those things that make us smile and make our heart laugh with joy. It is better to spend our day counting instead of complaining.