Praise Over Potholes

Audio By Carbonatix

If you live in a place that experiences harsh winters, then you have probably driven over a pothole that felt like it nearly consumed your car. Some potholes have done so much damage that the driver had to replace a tire, or worse, an engine. Potholes are a menace when it comes to cars, but they can be a blessing to us in our lives.

If we think of life as a road trip across the world, then we know that part of that journey will include potholes. We are going to face some bumps in the road and there will be times when we are forced to weave this way or that way to avoid potential danger. Many times in life, especially in family and marriage relationships, we see the potholes that are ahead and we focus on them. Sometimes to the point that we don’t notice the nice, smooth stretch of road that we could be driving on if we were to just look around. Sometimes we let our potholes consume us.

Of course, if we were all given a choice, we would choose to live the rest of our lives without ever having to deal with a crisis, but that’s not reality. Therefore, part of the goal for our lives should be to not only live in such a way that we praise and encourage other people, but also to make sure that we have a good balance of receiving praise and encouragement as we face our struggles. Our goal should be to make sure we praise more than we complain about the potholes.

That doesn’t mean we have to be thankful we got the flu or for some devastating event that happens in our lives. But we can choose to look at all of the positive aspects of what is happening and try to balance that against the negatives. I believe that we can always find something good in every situation. We may not see it right away. Sometimes, we have to endure the pain of the situation and start to heal from it before we see the positive. Other times, we recognize the good immediately and it helps in the healing process. If you lose your wallet and never look for it, you’ll never find it. The same is true for finding good in every situation. If you never look for it, you’ll never find it.

Make sure in your family life, and especially your marriage, that you address the potholes as necessary. But make sure that you also enjoy that smooth terrain that comes in between the potholes. When you do that, I think you’ll be winning at home.