This short, but meaningful, piece was sent in by @NRPax
The news reports are grim and it looks like Biden and Putin are itching for war. At home, gas prices are up and basic necessities are starting to feel like luxury items. It is very easy to give into despair.
Nowadays, finding hope is like working a muscle group. At first, you will not succeed to the level that you wish. You will fall short and you will wonder what the effort is all about. Despair and cynicism will quickly be there to embrace you and whisper that it’s not your fault and that you don’t need to go on.
As tough as things can be, there is good out there. The trick is training your eye and mind to look for it. A sunset may seem like a poor counter to the news of the world but it is a counter. Finding the story about someone doing good in the midst of the chaos around us at first may seem trivial but after a while, it’s like finding a diamond in a pile of trash. Teach yourself to rejoice at finding the diamond instead of being annoyed at the waste you sifted through to get to it.
At the end of the day, it’s the people who surround you that bring importance to your life. And for those people outside your group that you meet in daily interactions? Be the calm in the chaos. With luck, they might ask you for advice and you can show them that diamond.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
