Tuesday, May 26, 2009

A Godly Perspective Can Change Our Attitude

"One day I was mopping the kitchen floor and my words were anything but cheerful. I grumbled to myself. No one appreciates all I do around here. All I ever do is clean, clean, clean. Then God began to whisper a new thought to my heart. Suppose you were blind and couldn't see the beautiful patterns on the linoleum floor, or the spilled juice by the refrigerator, or the crumbs under the baby's chair? If you were deaf, you couldn't hear the soothing sound of the soap bubbles dissolving in the scrub bucket. You couldn't hear the rhythmic sound of the mop being pushed back and forth across the floor's hard surface. Suppose you were confined to a wheelchair and not strong enough to stand upright and grasp the wooden handle to erase the muddy footprints and make the floor shiny and clean again? Suppose you didn't have a home or a family to clean up after?

These thoughts brought a new perspective to this mundane task, and my grumbling turned into a prayer of thanksgiving. I stood up straight, proudly grasped the mop, and began to pray. Thank You, Lord, for the privilege of mopping this dirty floor. Thank You for the health and strength to hold this mop, for the ability to wrap my agile fingers around its handle and feel the wood in my hands. Thank You for the sight to see the crumbs and the dirt, for the sense of smell to enjoy the clean scent of the soap in my bucket. Thank You for the precious feet that will walk through this room and dirty it again. Those feet are the reason I do this job. And, Lord, thank You for the privilege of having a floor to mop and a family to clean up after.

Oh, yes. It's marvelous how a godly perspective can change our attitude and the words that reflect them. When we begin to praise God in the middle of the mundane, He refreshes us with a new outlook on life!"

An excerpt from The Power of a Woman's Words by Sharon Jaynes

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