Watching For Damage Reports From Frost, Aphids and Diamondback Moths.

Ed, my old neighbor from Saskatchewan, has always been one to expect the worst. When I talked to him last week, it was August 23 and the day before Calgary had received wet snow that melted as it fell. That was enough to fire up my old neighbor into thoughts of doom and gloom. He has had some crop damage from aphids and diamondback moths and was certain a killing frost would be next to further damage both his crop yield and quality. When I suggested that maybe the killing frost wouldn’t arrive before the end of September this year, he said, “Fat Chance!”

Ed stated that we aren’t dealing with global warming. He claimed that the weather is Russian roulette now! “You never know what the weather will do because every place, whether far or near, has crazy weather. Nobody knows what to expect, of the weather. It mostly will be what you don’t want or need, like a shot to the head.”

Sometimes, it seems like doom and gloom are the way to think. I told Ed that not only did I have to get a new computer but also had to deal with the new Windows 10. When my old neighbor, “What was on my old computer?” I said that it was Windows 7. He said that I should be glad to have something three times newer. I replied that it was like the weather, just three times harder now to handle. When he suggested that I might get to like it, I said, “Fat Chance!”

Having a positive attitude about life is easier said than done. It is easy to believe that our happiness relates to the events, and people who touch our lives. Not so, according to Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., who asserts that such a belief is a copout on our part. Jampolsky claims that it isn’t what has happened to us or how others treat us that makes us happy or unhappy, but how we choose to perceive and interpret these things. He suggests that we can elect to change our thinking about the past and the future and not get stuck in anger or irritability, and depression in the present.

The Bible confirms that faith in Jesus can change our thinking from negativity to positivity. This positivity, for Christians means that their happiness relates to fixing their eyes on Jesus. They also are hard pressed by debt, and loss of income. Christians get perplexed by their conduct and by that of other people towards them. They can experience being abandoned by family and friends and struck down in sickness, and facing approaching death. In spite of this, the light of Christ shines in their hearts. Christ proved that God unconditionally loved sinners. This side of heaven nothing is perfect. They do not lose heart for they know that what they see and experience is temporary, but Jesus, who is unseen, is eternal. Daily life need not be worry about having more than enough income, health, and pleasure. Life is trust in God who knows best, what and how much we need. Since God is for us, we trust him in the best and worst of life.

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