Not too long ago, I finished Mark Batterson’s book: If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God’s What If Possibilities.
Mark shared this very simple yet substantially valuable quote that he says deeply challenged his perspective: “If every day were a good day, there would be no good days.”
Wow! Think about that for a minute. Isn’t that a great perspective?
It’s so easy to fill our days with “if only” thoughts and regrets that cause us to be discontent.
“If only I had more money …”
“If only I had a better body …”
“If only I had a bigger house/a better car/a bigger yard…”
“If only we didn’t have food allergies…”
“If only I had more time…”
“If only my marriage was like hers…”
“If only we could find a way to increase our income…”
In the book, Mark says:
“If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you were more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you’re better off than 5 hundred million people in the world.”
He went on to share more about how even our bad days usually cannot compare to those of the rest of the world. The truth is that many of us don’t truly know what a bad day is.
Take a second and think about it.
If you have more than a meal’s worth of food in your fridge, clothes to wear, and a soft place to sleep, then you are 75% richer than the rest of the world.
If you can read this article, then you are more blessed than 2 billion people in the world that are unable to read.
If you have money to spare, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
No matter what your life circumstances are, I can guarantee you that someone else would love to be in your shoes.
Remember: You can’t choose your circumstances, but you can choose your attitude in life.
Choose well today.
Jamie Rohrbaugh says
Yes. Great points. I love Batterson’s work too. (Reading through his Chase the Lion right now!) Unfortunately, sometimes I definitely find myself getting caught up in that cycle of wishing and forget to be thankful for the “already.” But we have so much for which to be thankful. It’s challenging to not let our desires for those big dreams–the ones for which we work and pray so much–overtake our souls.
Aimee Hadden says
Such a good reminder! Every day I can choose joy. Sometimes I have to slow down long enough to choose to see the beauty.
Karen says
Just read this chapter in Mark Batterson’s book today before I saw your post! We are so quick to complain about anything and everything instead of being grateful for what God has given us.
Lindsey L. says
I used to feel like I had to battle everyone and everything, stand up to “the man,” to be a victim and agonize about how bad I had it. I took different medications for depression, had mood swings, I even spent time in mental hospitals.
While mental illness is no joke and my heart aches for those who struggle with emotional pain, and I would never EVER advise anyone to stop taking their doctor-prescribed medications, through therapy and doctor-supervised stepping away from my medications, I still have “down in the dumps days,” but I am truly no longer mentally ill. I’m no longer chemically or emotionally depressed.
And honestly? I changed one thing. I just woke up every morning, and wrote down what I was thankful for. I made this a habit. I hated it at first, I was cynical and sardonic in my approach to stating “The sky is blue today and no rain, if I had money I could take the kids out, but I’m poor!”… but over time, it turned into, “It could be storming today, I could be in the path of a storm, I could have lost my home to the weather, or not had a home to protect myself from the weather. God gave me and many others a blue sky to enjoy today; I’m going to walk around outside with the kids and take photos. I’m blessed to have a way to capture memories with a camera!”
Every day, I wrote about what I was thankful for, three times a day. It was the most difficult habit I ever established.
My life, honestly and objectively, is worse now than it was when I decided I was “finished” being sad and angry at the world. I learned I had stomach cancer, and I also learned I had a genetic connective tissue disorder that robbed my ability to walk. A member of my family succumbed to drug use, and left behind two children. My mother, the cause of abuse in my life, died.
Yeah, it’s not great. I know some people will look at me and think I’ve decided to blind myself to the ways of the world. That I gave up fighting. This is what works for me. It’s what gives my children and niece and nephew a stable, consistent parent. It’s what made me realize I had things regarding my mother than made me grateful she was in my life and that God gave me challenges to overcome and be a better, stronger person, instead of God dumped a bunch of bad stuff on me, woe is me, I hate everything. That gratefulness allowed me to go to my mother’s bedside in the ICU, and thank her, genuinely and with love in my heart, and let her know her daughter and family would miss her and be okay, and we forgive her, and she is a beautiful person and everything will be okay.
I used to have a lot of friends that loved my “attitude” and “spitfire flamboyance”, and got a kick out of my relentless campaigns against the powers that be, protesting, complaining, making cynical jokes about everything.
I ran into some old co-workers (I’m at home now with my kids and a wheelchair; we are dirt poor but happier than ever), we were chatting and he looked down his nose at me and said, “You’ve -changed.- What killed your spirit?”
Killed my spirit?
My spirit was damaged!
I’m filled with joy and appreciation for life now. I really do have it good. My priorities are straight. My life could be better, and I struggle on days I’m in a lot of pain and cannot do more for my family, but then I am thankful that I’ve raised my children to be so patient with me, as I can be with them; I’m thankful we are all there for each other, and I’m a part of the lives of children who will grow up not needing to recover from their childhood. It was hard work, but my life did and is changed.
I’m not in a rat race, I’m not angry at the injustice in the world anymore. My spirit is more alive than ever.
Sorry for the random and long “rant” type of post, but it was so uplifting to read Crystal’s post today 🙂 I would recommend to anyone in a slump or wanting to do something to better their life to grab a notebook and just sit down every morning with their coffee, and list a few things, every day. Every day, do this “one silly thing” like those internet ads talk about, and maybe it will help you. This mindfulness was the one key thing that gave me back my spirit and my will to not just survive, but to live.
Thank you for the wonderful Sunday post, Crystal!
Jody says
Your comment really spoke to me. I have gone in and out with daily writing down gratitudes…and I often deal with being angry and offended at the powers that be and thinking I have to show how strong I am, how strong I can be and I’m pretty tired of it and its zapping my energy for the things most important to me. What you shared is making me want to focus on the habit of writing down my gratitude more. What you have experienced and are experiencing and the transformation as a result of practicing gratefulness, wow, you have a powerful testimony. I just really needed to read this. ?? Thank you.
Karen says
Thank you for being so honest Lindsey. I don’t write down what I’m thankful for each day, but each day I say a prayer of thanksgiving for even the simplest things in my life: seeing a butterfly…. My goal recently has been to enjoy each moment. And just a few days ago, I heard someone say we need to enjoy the challenges in our life. I agree with you that you now have spirit- a spirit of joy and peace which will draw others to you.
Karen says
I am going to print this out and put it on my fridge. Me and my family could use to see this every day.
M says
On point!
Mishelle says
Thank you !!!! I really need to remind myself of these FACTS more! Sometimes I get so caught up in the minor dilemmas of life that I forget to see the (much) bigger picture out there in the the world, and how blessed we truly are. Yes, someone else would love to live my life and have my ‘problems’. I’m going to start a gratitude journal today!!!!!
Michele says
I saw a saying on a sign at a store a few months ago, “The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for.” How very true! And sometimes it’s difficult to realize how good we have things until we lose them.
Jane says
Thanks for sharing this Crystal – really needed this reminder tonight! Have a fantastic Saturday night!