I enjoyed the story from Lysa’s adventure in Ecuador. I have often thought of the women she met as I go through my day. Just to give you a quick idea of her life, she lives in a cave, literally, on the side of a mountain. She cooks over an open fire, goes to a river to wash her clothes, and goes to the market everyday for food. Up and down the path she walks daily to take her kids to school and do the rest of these things. I am still amazed that people live this way. We, as pampered Americans, truly know very little of how most of the world lives.
Our days are full of demands and everyday tasks. Just this week, I’ve had to go to Publix twice, Wal-mart, the dry cleaners, shoe shopping, the bank, the mall, back to the mall to return the shoes I bought and to work. If I had to do all of that without my car, I think I would cry. All the modern technologies we have truly are astonishing when compared to her life. Yet with as little as she had, when asked what the team could do for her, she basically answered, “Pray that my husband comes to know the Lord and that I will have the strength to carry on each day.” Wow! Lysa uses her meager life to remind us to be thankful when our bad or ungrateful attitudes take over. “The uglies cause us to lash out; an attitude funk causes us to shut down.” (page 135)
Being thankful is the secret to adjusting your attitude. Praise and thanksgiving remind us of our position in Christ, and of the promise God has made to us. Our circumstances are only temporary. “Bad attitudes breed bad attitudes. Grumpy hearts breed more grumpy hearts. Ungratefulness breeds ungratefulness. On the flip side, praising God breeds more reasons to praise God. Thankfulness breeds more thankfulness. And a person who daily practice both praising and thanking has a rare joy that very few people possess.” (page 137)
So what are you thankful for today?
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