Glory days!

I love it when God changes my heart about something! Don't you? How about those moments when He lets you see that what you are believing is a lie? Those are great! The best part is when He can convince me to see the truth behind the lies. Most of you, when I say lies, will think of someone deliberately telling something false. But today it occurred to me that our own fear, insecurity, bad attitude, etc is used in the battle against us. We can believe whatever we like, be it good or bad. We can also convince others, even unwittingly, to buy into the lie our fear is feeding us. Let me give an example of something that happened to me this morning.
I got out of bed and went outside to check the weather. It was cloudy, drizzly and cold. I smiled. I love these days! So I got the kids ready and we headed out to begin our day. They too were enjoying this weather, and that again made me smile. However, it soon became evident that not many shared our enthusiasm. Looking out the window I saw people that were not happy. People that were rushing out of the weather not really paying attention to anything around them. Aside from the people, I saw beautiful trees and leaves falling in the breeze. I saw squirrels scampering around freely because there wasn't anyone for them to fear. I smelled the fall air rushing in the windows of my van. It was truly beautiful.
I decided to turn on the radio, only to hear "we aren't going to have the beautiful weather of yesterday, in fact, it is going to be quite dreary out there, it's a good day to just stay inside" Now, I have probably heard that a thousand times on as many different days of my life til now and it never bothered me. This morning, it bothered me.
Isn't there still beauty in a storm? Isn't there still beauty in the snow? In the rain? Wind? These are just elements. Do we really allow them to alter our outlook or our attitudes? Can something so simple really isolate us from others? The answer to that is yes. Yes, we do allow the "elements" to affect our lives in negative ways. We allow other peoples opinions to alter our opinions. After I heard this said several more times over the next half hour, I started to lose my spark and think that maybe I was just a little on the odd side. (Well, all those that know me know that I am a bit odd, but that aside...) It was then that it occurred to me that I was buying into somebody else's lie. By definition gloomy means partially or completely dark, amongst other things. So yes, it may be gloomy in that sense. But to isolate ourselves from things that we love to do or people that we could be reaching out to because it is gloomy outside .... well, I just don't see it. Don't we hold the answer to darkness? Don't we have a way to brighten not only our lives but lives of others? Isn't Jesus a light that shines through even the darkest of nights and thickest of clouds? These things, these elements in our lives (be it weather, problems, a belief that someone holds that isn't healthy) do not have to dictate how our day will go. I am so thankful for the beauty that He has placed around me. What an amazing artist He is!! The colors, the smells, the sensations! These things change with the seasons, change with the weather, but He never does! How wonderful is that! No matter the weather, the situation, the circumstances He will never change! So, how then can I look to a cloudy day and let the lie sit in my soul that today I need to hide myself away because it is "dreary" or "gloomy"....oh no....today I am going to look through that cloud and see the Light that is always shining! Today I am going to seek Him, draw nearer to Him. Today I am going to praise Him. Today I am going to thank Him for being the Light in this dark world and let my light shine as brightly for Him as I can.
Thank You, Jesus for showing me the beauty you have created and helping me to see that it is always there and there isn't a damper for Your light!