“Clothed in a ‘Calm, Well-balanced Mind’” (14/40)

What makes each of us different are the choices we make in life. Today in itself is a choice. I can choose to walk in “stinking thinking,” or I can choose to be positive. I can choose happiness. I do not have to choose fear.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]. (2 Timothy 1:7 AMP)

Within that spirit of power, love and sound judgment, I can choose to feel blessed—because I am, in fact, highly blessed! I just have to open my eyes to see it. And God has given me the personal discipline of thought to do so.

Recently, I started a new tradition with my whole family to end every night either at dinnertime or at bedtime by saying three things we are each thankful for. It truly blesses me to hear some of the things that my children come up with. My middle child, Elianna, who will turn six in three weeks and has behavioral problems at school, said that she is thankful for her teachers—the ones who discipline her and lead her in ways she doesn’t always take a liking to. But somehow in her little mind, she realizes that they are a great blessing to her and her future.

I want to have her eyes to see the blessings that may feel like curses now but in truth bring light to my future. Four years ago we decided to move out of our first home to find a larger one with a finished basement so that my mother-in-law could live in it. Unfortunately, she unexpectedly passed away the same week we put our house on the market. We continued on with our plan to move, as it was already in motion. However, mentally, I connected her devastating loss with our move as we began our search for a new home. And when we found one that didn’t quite fit the mold I had in my head (the basement wasn’t already finished), I sought the Lord’s wisdom about it. He said, “It’s an investment in your future.”

In that moment I had to make a choice. Choose to live by what I could see or choose to live by what God could see. How blessed was I to trust in a God who could see my future and know that this particular house would be a blessing. Not only did we welcome our only baby boy home to this house, but we have also been able to offer the basement as a temporary home to two other families so far. The blessing goes far beyond that in ways we can’t even imagine yet. And I no longer associate this house with the death of a loved one. My thinking has changed. This home is a blessing that God has made, just like today, and I will rejoice and be glad in it. I make the choice to do so every day with a calm, well-balanced mind.