Like so many people I have talked with lately, I have trouble watching the news anymore. We used to listen to the national news at 5:30 while we sat around our table having dinner. There was more than one occasion where a news story was either so upsetting or one would cause an argument among us that we would leave the table in disgust, often without finishing our meal. We had to stop listening to the nightly news over dinner.
Some of this morning’s top headlines on CNN are…
1 Dead, 1 on the Run
Terrorists Strike on 3 Continents
Islamic Message Found With Head
Serial Killer? 4 Dead, 2 Missing
It’s hard to read through all this bad news. I looked around outside as I took my daughter’s dog out for a walk early this morning. The birds were singing. The sun was out. I may have been the only person awake in our neighborhood, but Oh! What a Beautiful Morning! Looking around my tiny little community all I see is calm, peacefulness, and God’s beautiful works in the sunrise, the blooming flowers, and the farmers’ fields. As I look to the north and south and east and west, I say a little prayer of thankfulness for this day. Looking up causes me to realize that maybe I should watch less news and look up more often.
In the past few weeks, how many times have you heard someone say (or said yourself) “I don’t know what this world is coming to.” Shootings in churches and schools, hate crimes, terrorist attacks…this world is a mess. I want to hear the good news. I want the stories of love winning, inspiring people, sharing kindness with strangers without looking for reward, and mission work in our country, as well as others. I want to focus on the good, but not forget the bad. I may not be able to stop these terrible things from happening, but I absolutely can spread love and hope in this downtrodden world. I can smile at the people I pass by, take a meal to a sick neighbor, and most of all, I can pray for the people and circumstances that I cannot control.
So many people are suffering. So many people are in distress. I may not be able to solve the world’s problems, but I can surely offer hope to others around me. In Matthew 9, Jesus was going through villages proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing the blind, mute, and sick. In verses 36 – 38, it says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
This world needs more workers. We have this beautiful world to care for, people to love, needs to meet. I have been accused of being naive, but I am very much aware of what is going on in the world around me. I choose to focus on the good, but I don’t ignore the bad. I pray for those that have been faced with crisis and those that have brought pain to others. I try every single day to treat others the way I want to be treated. Spreading good news is a much needed task in times such as this. I am blessed that although I have been through tragedy myself, I am able to see beyond the travesties of this world and know the hope that exists. I may not be able to change the world, but I can focus on the good and spread love and kindness and pray for peace.
“Should we feel at times disheartened and discouraged, a simple movement of heart toward God will renew our power. Whatever He demands of us, He will give us at the moment the strength and the courage that we need.” -Francois de La Mothe-Fenelon
danacox31 
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