St. Luke's United Methodist Church

Note: this is an article in a continuing series in which I share my own stories inspired by The Upper Room’s daily suggested Bible verse and devotional story. I present this series in the tradition of United Methodist Church Founder John Wesley’s “methodical” study of The Bible, and I encourage other St. Luke’s members to become a formal contributor to this site in order to share their own testimony similarly.

Plenty to Love
Inspired by The Upper Room’s suggested reading for January 24, 2012
Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

I tend to have an optimistic view of the world, and that sometimes makes people angry at me.

My wife, for example, is a little annoyed with me tonight.

This morning, she worried that we were “completely out of groceries” and would need to find a little more money for our food budget this month. I responded by suggesting that she focus on all of the food that we already have (a bunch of brisket, a lot of fruit, a loaf of bread, a bag of potatoes, canned bisquits, a total of 20 slices of cheese, several television dinners, rice, spaghetti, some of my delicious homemade pasta sauce, cream of wheat oatmeal, a huge bag of carrots, several cans of tuna, soup and beans, pimento cheese, and several bags of frozen vegetables) rather than what we don’t have (eggs was all I think she mentioned specifically).

I ate a delicious peanut butter & jelly sandwich for dinner tonight. (I thought of whipping up some spaghetti for us with some garlic toast and broccoli on the side, and a little wine to wash it all down. But a plumber coming to do some work for us tomorrow has requested that we not use our sink tonight. So I went with PB&J to keep dirty dishes to a minimum.) I offered to make my wife a sandwich too, but I think she’s still sulking a little over the fact that we do, in fact, have a lot of food in our house. I’m not sure what she plans to eat tonight, but she has plenty of choices.

Alas, I’ve learned to just chuckle at the annoyed and frustrated way my friends and family commonly respond to my optimism.

And, usually, when they’ve had time to see that their annoyance at me was misguided, they’ll end up asking me something like, “How is it that you always see things in such a positive light?”

“I just stay connected to God,” I answer.

People often seem mystified at my ability to stay so consistently focused on God’s goodness.  And for them, I suggest a daily dose of today’s reading. (Many Jewish people carry these verses on their bodies and make a point of reciting them twice daily.) Particularly verses 5 and 6. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.”

I’ve found that pessimism — and all other varieties of negative thought — is the result of not following that command as carefully as need be.

Thanks be to God for plenty to love.

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