praising God

I had to go for a check-up today. (Good news. My A1C count is down quite a bit and almost within normal range!) While I was at the doctor's office, I had the opportunity to observe an interaction between a nurse and a nurse practitioner. The nurse was being rather crabby and the nurse practitioner was trying her best to be patient, kind and solicitous. It wasn't going well. I was thinking, I, myself, have only been able to get the nurse to laugh once. She's generally pretty sullen! When I was leaving, I almost ran into a man who was going through the door at the exact same time. I smiled my widest smile and excused myself. He excused himself, too. Our mutual sharing of good manners made me feel good.

These left me thinking about how we come across to the people with whom we interact. I know the way we do can make a big difference. Do we spread God's sunshine by presenting joy and kindness or do we walk around with a chip on our shoulders, daring people to knock it off?

I'd rather present God's love to people. I think I'm somewhat successful because some people call me "Sunshine" and sometimes I can see people visibly relax as we talk and people seem to respect me. I never see the point in being cranky. Of course, a lot depends on my being responsible to get enough sleep, eat correctly, etc. How our bodies feel has an impact on our moods. Yet, I know it's much more than that. If we love God with all our hearts, minds and souls, we can't help but spread love wherever we go. And, in my experience, people will tend to respond positively.

The challenge is to be godly even when we are going through rough patches or don't feel very happy ourselves. I try very hard to have the same sunny disposition, no matter what is happening in my life. It wasn't always so. When Mary died, it took me three years to emerge from the intense grief. I remember my husband told me I had to snap out of it and get on with life, 2 years into it. I just looked at him. I had no idea how to do that. And, his words spoke volumes as to how it was with me--definitely not sunshine! Today, I know that I would rely totally on God's grace if something like that happened. I would see my suffering as a gift because suffering is an opportunity to grow closer to Him. And, maybe, just maybe, my earthly suffering would be a credit toward how long I will have to suffer in purgatory. (There's always a self-centered angle, isn't there?) We are here to help one another grow closer to God. Can we really do that by being crabby with each other?