Conquering the negative
I learnt a valuable spiritual lesson when I was on vacation in Bali last December.
We had signed up to go on a canoeing trip to a lake (can’t remember its name). The skies looked leaden with grey clouds and I told the tour guide that I was worried it was going to rain.
She assured us there was nothing to worry about because in all the five years they have run the tour, it’s only rained on five occasions.
So we confidently set out on the lake, and paddled our way to the middle of the lake. We sat there, in the middle, while the guide gave us a history of the lake and some touristy information about a temple by the lake.
Then it happened.
The steel clouds unleashed a flood of rain.
The guide told us to stay put, assuring us that the rain wouldn’t last.
But it rained. And rained. And rained.
The heavens let loose its tears and we were thoroughly soaked. The rain was so heavy my watch drowned in the downpour and got damaged.
Our guide told us to head back to land and we canoed our way back to the shore.
We ended up at a restaurant near the lake where we dried off and had lunch, which included fresh fish caught from the lake.
Our tour group included a couple and their two kids and we chatted over the meal. I was with my sister, and she was fine too, seemingly unperturbed about how the rain had washed out our trip. I was fine too – I surmised that even though the rain was heavy – it was not that big a deal – rain is just water, it’s not life-threatening.
One thing that struck me was that nobody seemed to be upset about the rain spoiling our excursion.
It was then that I had the insight. If you have a positive attitude, then even if things don’t go the way you plan, you can still have a good time.
Your happiness doesn’t have to be dependent on good circumstances. Don’t let negative circumstances steal your joy and God will bless you with a great gift – unconditional happiness.
So when life rains down on you, don’t lose your smile – keep a good attitude and conquer bad times through Christ!
