Christian Living

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What Kind of Life Are You Living?
By Dan Langerock


The Box
By Dan Langerock

The box was rusted and worn by time
Its dents were many and deep;
Inside were silver and gold,
Things to treasure and keep.

An old man sat on the porch
Watching as the world passed him by;
Although he was old, his spirit was bold
But society said he should die

Have you accepted the myth of society that after a certain age, you are no longer worth having around? Rest homes are full of people with this attitude. A person without hope is what you have become, if this is true of you. I see so many people, not just older, who are bored with life and the rut they are in.

Have you put yourself in the box of decreased expectation? Maybe your family and friends are not around anymore and you feel so lonely. Some people refuse to make new friends because when they do, the person moves away or dies, leaving them in the same lonely state as before.

Instead of thinking about the negative side of life, think about all the joys you can have meeting new people, experiencing vicariously what they have gone through in life. There are a billion stories out there to be told and listened to, but will there be anyone to care enough to listen and learn from what is said?

How do you look at life? Is it a drudgery to get up every morning? The same old, same old happens everyday without change? Or do you have that zest for living, welcoming each new day as a challenge to learn something new and experience life to its fullest?

Do you complain about your existence or are you proactive and try to do something about what is happening in your life? Some people just complain without doing anything, making those around them miserable also. Do you even realize you are complaining or have you stopped listening to yourself?

Have you worked on varying your routine a little each day to avoid being bored? Do you care that you are bored or do you want to be miserable? As you know, there are some people that cannot be helped because of their attitude. I talked to a woman at the hospital one day who was like this. No matter what I said she had an excuse why she could not implement the suggestion into her life. She was so fixated on being trapped by her circumstances; she had shut out any possibility of help.

God doesn’t look at how old you are but what the attitude of your heart is. Look at the lives of Moses, Caleb, and Abraham to name a few whom God used for great things when they were past 80 years of age. Life can be an adventure, but not if you have the wrong attitude and shut out the blessings that are there waiting for you. You can wallow in self-pity and other emotions but you don’t have to. Seek out encouraging people, not those who are complaining all the time. Get rid of bad habits, if any, and start looking at life as a challenge instead of a liability.

Ask God and others to help you find the blessings you have. You will be amazed how many you can find when you want to. We can point the “camera” of life on the negative or we can point it toward the positive—but we have to make the choice to do so. Treasure those around you, instead of lamenting about the past and what you have “lost”. If you will learn to shift your focus in this way, you will be a happier person—but it only works if YOU make the choice to do so. It won’t happen automatically! As the holidays approach and we are on the brink of a brand new year, what will your choice be—the rut you have been in or the blessings waiting for you around life’s corner?

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