The sun still comes up.

It’s been an interesting week as we watch the results of the Midterm Elections unfold. People in our country have become so divided and while I do not think of myself as a highly political person – I have beliefs and stands on things that I will not back down from. I am not alone. But when those stands differ from those of others and the conversations take a turn for the worse, it becomes tough to remember that the county is still united and not divided.

I have to cling to one of my old stand by mottos — the sun still comes up. Did you ever think about that?  The sun still comes up. Every day.  Some days it may be hidden by clouds.  Some days it may be covered with raindrops.  Some days, heaven forbid it, there may even be snow that covers the brilliance of the sun but it ALWAYS comes up.  Without fail.

When I was a teenager and had braces on my teeth I was just not a big fan of going to the orthodontist.  A trip to the orthodontist always meant tightening brackets and wires and a sore mouth for days.  Wires sometimes came loose and poked gums.  Wax had to be placed on the brackets so they would not rub the inside of the mouth raw.  While I loved that my horribly  out of whack teeth would finally be straight and nice looking I was not a huge fan of the pain that sometimes went with achieving that look.

So I managed to come up with a method to get through the pain and dread of having to sit in that chair at the orthodontist.  Our trips almost always included a shopping excursion afterwards.  I saved my babysitting money up for these post appointment trips and thought about what I would find during the excruciating minutes in the chair.  It always helped to think past the pain, past the appointment to the time post appointment when I would be able to enjoy an hour shopping someplace fun. While a trip to the orthodontist is nothing compared to a lot of things that folks are going through currently, it is simply an example of what I continue to do to push through something less than pleasant.

I have written about this often over the years and maybe it is when I just simply need to reminded. There is still hope in the world – no matter how political elections turn out – there is always hope and looking for that cup half full instead of half empty is important. Even if you are not happy with how elections turn out — I hope you will join me today in feeling the positivity that surrounds us and to take the opportunity to look for the good things in life instead focusing on the bad things. For instance — I was thrilled this week to find a lost bookmark that Theo made for me. It totally turned my day around when I found that little ray of sunshine tucked in a book I had forgotten I had stuck it in.

We have all had challenges.  Life is just full of them and it is how we come out on the other side of them that shows our character and our faith.  What do you do to get through the challenges that life throws your way?  I would love to hear.