My Glass is Full

I am a pessimist; a glass is half empty kind of girl. I seem to see a conspiracy around ever corner too. My sweet man on the other hand, is a true optimist; he sees the good in everything.  When we are in the midst of our everyday life, I have a tendency to be a Whiner. If things don't go the way I think they should, my heart's eyes only see the negative. It's at times like these that my honey will remind me of a story about a boy and a pony.
One Christmas time, a boy asked his parents for a pony; but when this little guy awoke on Christmas morning, all that was under the tree was a pile of manure, and a shovel.  The boy stood for a moment and contemplated the situation under the tree, he then grabbed the shovel and began to dig. His parents were astounded at this, and when they asked him what he was doing, and why he wasn't upset that there was no pony, the boy replied, "With this big a pile of manure, there has to be a pony in there somewhere."
The little boy in this story is what I am trying to be like! I want so much to have a thankful heart, to be grateful for all that the Lord has given, and even allowed. After all, all that I go through is for my benefit, my character growth, the ultimate good for me and for those around me.  When I view my life and it's situations, through the lens of the scriptures, I will see the good in all of it. I find that the more I train my thoughts towards thinking the good, it's much easier to see the good. It will take the power of the Spirit of God, working in my life, to bring about any lasting change in my thinking or behavior. So He, is what I am grateful for today. I'm thankful for His comfort in the sad times, for His teaching, for His love. I am so very grateful that He never gives up on me, that His sweet mercies are new each day.  I am thankful that God has changed my view of life over these past 30 years; and I am grateful for the chance to learn to look at the piles of manure of this life and to discover, with a bit of digging, that there is a pony in there......somewhere.