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Today I am grumpy. Really grumpy . . . because my list of “I can’ts” seems impossibly long: I can’t walk because my hip hurts, the COVID pandemic has grounded me, I can’t worship with my church family and I can’t lose weight, just to name of few.
So today I am grumpy. I was planning to indulge in an all-day self-centered pity party, but then a small voice gave me two pep-talks, or maybe they were more like wisdom teachings: The first lesson came from an unlikely source. It was from the movie, Frozen II. The often-repeated theme of the movie is, “do the next right thing.”
Which led me remember Isaiah 58:10 in which a wise person says, “If you offer food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday sun.”
And one of my favorite authors, Ann Voskamp, has written, “The best way to de-stress is to bless.”
The best way to de-stress is to bless
Ann Voskamp
So, I followed the advice of ancient wisdom, an author and a Disney film:
- Wrote notes to some grieving individuals
- Sent funny cartoons to my friend who is on a cancer journey
- Made energy bars for my husband
- Made some phone calls to my grandkids
- Continued my journey to become an anti-racist by reading a few educational articles
- Ordered a birthday present for a grandson
- Offered many short thank-you prayers to God
And guess what?!
I AM NO LONGER GRUMPY!
Thank you, God, for the wisdom you sent my way today:
“Do the next right thing.”
“Care for those who are suffering.”
“The best way to de-stress is to bless.”
And gratitude to God for the lift that comes when grumpiness-maybe it is mild discouragement and anger over “things” – when somehow by grace you are lifted out of it.