I only wish I could have that attitude about the little successes and failures in my own life:
>Upon doing something well, I would cheer and then move on to the next thing, neither dwelling pridefully on my achievement nor failing to rejoice appropriately for the good that has been accomplished.
>Upon failing at a goal I had made, I would joyfully set about trying again and detaching from any false pride that leads to frustrations. (You know, the whole "why am I not superwoman and able to accomplish an inhuman amount of tasks in a limited amount of time?" guilt complex . . . or maybe that's just me.)
An attitude of constant acceptance and praise reminds me of Job from the Old Testament. He loses everything dear to him (except for his wife who tells him to "curse God and die" and his friends who tell him he's a big sinner and is being justly punished), and then his immediate response is to dress humbly in mourning clothes and proclaim, "The Lord giveth & the Lord taketh away. Blessed is the name of the Lord!"
I think I've failed or come up short in nearly every one of my goals for this last month. My prayer is that Christ will give me the peace to detach from my ideals of success and my illusions of personal ability. Rather, I need to move forward, do my utmost to be a more faithful disciple of His, and keep a smile on my face.
Mother Teresa once said that we are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful.
Thank goodness!
Image source
No comments:
Post a Comment