Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get

In the movie “Forrest Gump”, the lead character, Forrest once said…”Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.” You know, life really is full of obstacles, surprises and suspense. We really don’t know what to expect, or what we are “gonna get”. But, should that stop us from living? Absolutely not.

There are times in our lives when we all become discouraged. Maybe you don’t have work at the present moment, you are having troubles financially, relationship problems or something all together different. One thing we all have in common is that we all have faced struggles in our lives. We must remember when we are feeling down that we need to look beyond the obstacles and stay focused on our goal. A couple of years ago I was doing the children’s worship in a church we were attending. I found a neat little quote that I knew the kids would enjoy. I think of it often to this day and it has really helped me as well. Here is what I did…

I brought donuts to service that morning (the kids really seem to pay attention when they are getting a treat!) I held one of the donuts up and I asked the kids what they saw. Of course, they all said they saw a donut. I then asked them what they thought about the hole in the middle of the donut. Is it unfair that you don’t get a full donut? There is a hole in the middle. The kids thought I was crazy! They said, no…that’s how donuts are supposed to be. And that’s when I said…”As you go through life, make this your goal…look at the donut, not the hole.” These kids were great at appreciating the donut and not looking at what wasn’t there and complaining. How great are you at looking at the donut and not focusing on the hole?

I’m not just talking about a donut though. As we go through life we tend to look at the negative things. We look at what’s missing or what could be, and that is what we spend our time focusing on. Wouldn’t life be grand if everyone were to take a positivity pledge? The negativity of others can pull us down and eventually we may find ourselves being negative as well. We must stay positive so that those around us may be uplifted by our energy and that they may become positive themselves.

Ephesians 4:29 says..

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Think about how quickly one negative thought can spread and how many others can be impacted by that negativity. Let’s say one of my boys were to come home from school in a bad mood. I ask what’s wrong and they tell me that someone at school is being negative and treating them unfair. Now that person at school isn’t the only one being negative because now my son is in a bad/negative mood and he is bringing that home and spreading it to his brothers. It all happens so quickly. One way that we can combat these negative remarks and keep them from spreading throughout our house like wildfire is by responding with positivity.

1 Peter 3:9 says…

Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it.

I challenge you all to go out and encourage others to be positive. Take the Positive Pledge yourself and when you feel something negative creeping up, turn it into a positive. Say something nice to the next person you encounter.