Let your ‘bump in the road’ friends help make your holiday season more joyful

The big Thanksgiving meal is behind us, and so began Black Friday shopping, Cyber Monday shopping and shopping for that “just-right” Christmas tree. The holiday season envelops us in a whirl of activities, including office parties, school holiday activities and various church Christmas cantatas.

December is a busy month, bringing with it a lot of different emotions that can sometimes be stressful. That stress level depends a lot on what kind of personality you have: Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

An optimist is inclined to look on the favorable side of things, anticipating the best possible outcome by thinking thoughts like “everything’s coming up roses” and “the sunny side of the street”.

The pessimist is inclined to emphasize adverse conditions, to expect the worst possible outcome. He or she says things like “I got up on the wrong side of the bed” or “I’m having a bad hair day.” Both are gloom and doom statements.

Ask yourself this: When you see a glass partly filled with water, do you view it as half empty or half full?

I am an optimist, always striving to see the best side of a situation. But we all, occasionally, will hit a bump in the road that requires an outside outlook on the situation. When I have one of those bumpy days and need to vent, I can always depend on one of my army of “dependable standbys” to air my thoughts to.

My “bump in the road” comrades include granddaughter Cheryl Tanner, nieces Patricia Bonner and Laurie Crosby and good friend Charlene King, all of whom are Christian ladies who I can depend on to give me an uplifting perspective with a different view to my situation, making it a better day. We all need friends like that — ones who leave us with a “thumbs-up” spirit instead of a “thumbs-down” outlook.

A good prayer to remember when we have days like this is Psalms 94:19: “Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.”

Here are a couple more helpful quotes:

“Attitude is a LITTLE thing that makes a BIG difference:” Winston Churchill

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud:” Maya Angelou.

Let’s all strive to enjoy this 12th month of the year and the close of 2017 and to look forward to 2018 with optimism.

When the angel Gabriel appeared before Mary, was she negative or pessimistic when he said in Luke 1:31: “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.”

No, she was optimistic and joyful when she replied in Luke 1:38, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 7:35 AM with the headline "Let your ‘bump in the road’ friends help make your holiday season more joyful."