dancing in the rain

During Wednesday night small group...one of our group members said something that really made me think...she is a school teacher and has to deal with negative attitudes from other teachers around her. She wanted to have control in her classroom, but last year was her first year to teach and she wasn't quite sure how to go about it..so she took the advice of someone..who told her not to smile til Christmas...be tough and strict that is the only way it would work...so she tried it that way and was miserable for her whole first year of teaching. This year she tried something new..she said I am a happy person and I have a lot to share..so I am going to welcome every student into my classroom with the attitude that it is a place a joy...she said that this year has been so much better. She has so much hope to share and when her kids can come to her class and feel that there is a sense of happiness and joy, they will be more apt to learn and enjoy being in her classroom.
I didn't realize what a great difference that looking at life as I have a lot to offer and that I am so blessed with a great sense of hope. I have a hope that not a lot of people have...why can I not have the attitude of pure joy and want to share it with those around me. Why can't I see everyday as a reason to be thankful? Why can't I give hope to those around me? Just a few thoughts I am having... I think part of my problem is that I have a lack of hope in my life. I look at things from a negative stand point than a positive one. I find myself doing so much better when I focus on the positive but somewhere along the way I lose that focus and I am right back where I started.
I told my mom today that I am feeling like I felt the semester when I flunked out of school a few years ago. I want to crawl in a hole and never come out. I am thankful for Sean and Dave who have kept me from doing that...if it wasn't for them I don't think I could have made it through the semester. There have been others that have prayed for me and thought of me often and I am thankful for that...I think that is when my sense of hope comes back...God is always there for me and that is especially evident when I have friends like I do. Thanks guys!! you are awesome...I love you very much.

If you have a faith as small as a mustard seed NOTHING will be IMPOSSIBLE for you. Matthew 17:20