A WORD FROM THE PASTOR

Our Life Has Always Two Sides

Norman Vincent Peale, an American minister (1898-1993), was a man who promoted positive thinking. One day, a very discouraged man visited Norman and told him ‘he had nothing to live for; he has lost the heart for living.’ Norman got a piece of paper, drew a vertical line in the middle, and said, “This is your life. Let’s write down a list of the things you’ve lost on the left side, and the things that you still have on the right side.”

The man said, “You won’t need the right side.” Norman said, “When did your wife leave you?” The man was shocked. “My wife didn’t leave me! She’s right here with me. My wife loves me!” Norman said, “That’s fantastic! Let’s write that down as number one on the right side of the paper: ‘Wife with me’. Now tell me, “When did your kids go to prison…” “Prison?”  “My kids are right here at home!” “Fantastic! Let’s write it down here as number two: ‘Kids not in jail.’”

Norman continued asking similar questions; the man got the point and began to smile. He said, “I guess my life isn’t so bad after all!” Your perception of reality is your reality. Your life has always two sides—a left side and a right side—the bad stuff happening and the good stuff happening. A lot of people spend the whole day looking at the left side—the side where they list everything that’s wrong with their life. 24 hours a day, they think about it. That’s why they’re miserable.

Let me come to the point – what have we learned during these lock down days? Are there any positive/good things that you learned during these days? I would like to give you home work: please take a paper and pen and write down all the good things that you learned/gained during these lock down days. I assure you – it will be fantastic! It will be a revelation of yourself.

I will be happy to get such things from you. If you are interested, we can print it in our bulletin. Your name is optional, but your positive/good things that you gained/learned is important. I expect some to respond. 

Let us make a decision to look at the right side of our life – good stuff is always happening.