Ever experienced all hell break loose to the extent that you wonder what went wrong? The past couple of weeks have been a struggle- it started with the pink eye and ended with a cough that just wouldn’t go away.
To top it all, I had a nasty argument with my mum- over something so trivial that makes me laugh now.
Why does life seem complicated all at once? As if there’s no beauty, no goodness left? Perhaps to keep us grateful for the times when things did seem more in place- more at peace than they are now.
I don’t remember a time when I was more grateful for being able to swallow a complete meal without throwing up. The nagging cough, present in traces even now, had me on my knees, praying for respite- but to no avail.
I coughed mercilessly, tearing my throat in the process, waiting for the bout to end- which it did but never without draining me physically and mentally.
Because Good Health is a Gift from God
Someone rightly remarked- you can earn it all, but health. I even remember Pastor Joseph Prince saying in one of his sermons- people lose all their health in gathering wealth, which they lose in turn to earn back the health they lost.
Man can build monuments, reach the moon, walk on the sea- he can do the most impossible stuff, but to be able to do so, they need health- health to even begin contemplating such a feat.
Prolonged sickness can lead to depression. You feel as if all the light of the world has suddenly been put out.
Everywhere you look death and gloom greet you and you find yourself in a vicious cycle- wanting to be healthy and on your feet – but failing to find the motivation or the energy for that matter to stand up again.
Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One by One
The obvious response, at such times, is to grumble and mumble. We, human beings, are wired to complain- it’s what comes ever so naturally to us.
And yet, research states that complaining not only adds to the negativity but also makes you dumber!
I, for one, would never want that for my brain!
For an entire week, I struggled to see the good side- the green side of the endless cough and vomit.
And to be honest, I couldn’t- I couldn’t until Monday. After 9 days on the bed, wriggling in discomfort and nausea, something arose in me (waah, too slow Sany…I know, I know).
That still small voice that had led me on countless occasion- provoked me to stand upright, claim your health and count your blessings! And that’s what I did, exactly.
I sat down- paper and pen in hand, listing down every good thing that was mine.
I was working at home, away from my colleagues, but close to my folk.
I could play endlessly with my silver lining- Mr. Tinku.
I had a supervisor who had been understanding enough to grant me work from home for 2 entire weeks.
I had plenty of time to come up with new ideas to improvise on the present content!
I had friends praying for and over me- for recovery (and that was indeed a treasure beyond compare)
They say bad times show you who are for you and indeed I grew immensely in the safety of some true, valuable relationships.
And can you guess what happened when I ran over my list- my spirits felt revived.
I had a new strength, a new outlook and a torrential rainfall of blessings that I had previously overlooked.
I realized that I was and still am BLESSED!
Choose Life, Choose Gratefulness!
So, the moral of the story is- a 1000 things can go wrong in any season of our lives- but whether we stay stuck or rise above will completely rest on our attitude of gratitude.
The speed of our recovery is directly proportional to the sound of our praise. So, what would you choose today? Choose life, choose gratefulness.
