Be Thankful For Your Potatoes

I try to have a positive attitude - I try not to complain about things or be negative. Obviously I still do from time to time, but it really annoys me, so I try not to. Well, the other day I had been having one of those days where it seemed like I was focusing more on the negative things about the events, people, and circumstances surrounding me. I had just started my shift at work, and I had to go downstairs and pick up a dinner tray for a patient. She was on a special pureed diet, which meant it took them forever to make the tray, so I waited for quite a while, thinking about all the work I needed to be doing instead of sitting there waiting.

My attitude had definitely started going downhill by the time I got back upstairs with the tray. I took it into the patient's room, and asked her if she was hungry. She nodded her head so I started feeding her the dinner. She ate very quietly for a while, slowly gumming away at this pureed meal. It was potatoes, corn, and some type of meat, all mashed up into their own little patties of mush. As I stood there feeding her, I let my mind wander – I thought about the mashed up food, and wondered whether it actually tasted like the real thing, then about how hungry I was and finally about how I was already tired and still had 11 hours left on my shift.Then she finally said something, very quietly: "The food is good."

My self-centered train of thought came to a sudden halt as she spoke these words. Suddenly my heart broke for this frail woman stuck lying in bed day after day. She has suffered a stroke, can no longer speak clearly or move well at all, and has to be fed and changed like a toddler. Yet she is able to think of something positive to say about what is happening to her. Needless to say, I felt about 2 inches tall, and immediately felt the sting of tears in my eyes as I thought about how pathetic it is for me to complain about anything at all, when I am so obviously blessed. I have a wonderful family, friends, my health, the opportunity to serve my country, and to help sick and injured people, all while being paid to do so. And I have the nerve to complain about something.

I made a decision a few years ago to be a positive person, and I have decided to re-kindle that decision now. When I start to think negatively, I’m going to replace the negative thought with a positive one. It really is easier than it sounds. And it’s much easier to stop it at the thought stage than the speaking stage. I know from experience that what you think about and what you dwell on is what will eventually come out of your mouth. So I’m determined to think positively, so that I speak positively. There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for, no matter how trying your circumstances may seem. And I thank that patient for reminding me of that.

“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” – Matthew 12:34

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." - Psalm 19:14