Reflections for a New Year

Day 9 - Be Positive

Every year will bring its share of woes,
For every pathway includes its pitfalls.
Some cannot be avoided,
But remember they are just part of the story.
Do not become defined by them,
Or allow them to become your only focus.
There is always more to see,
If not today, then perhaps tomorrow.

To be positive is not to ignore reality,
Or dismiss the pain and disappointment it contains.
But resist the temptation to simply echo failure.
Consider what opportunities,
Might yet rise from its ashes;
What good might emerge,
Even from simply sharing another’s struggle,
Or rebuilding the ruins of some lost aspiration.

The goodness of God,
Cannot be assailed by any human circumstance.
Though it may be obscured when evil prevails.
It will sometimes accomplish its purpose,
Through the darkest of circumstances
Whose true intent, time alone will reveal.
And faith does not demand that we fathom or explain,
But chooses to interpret life's every encounter,
In the light of this changeless reality.