I didn't mean to. I wasn't even doing anything dangerous. I was only closing my bedroom door, and it so happens that on the back of my door hangs an unframed mirror, perfectly placed to be lethal. I gripped the door just on the edge of that mirror and the hard, sharp edge neatly sliced my finger. I didn't even know I was bleeding until I felt wetness.
I never minded the "unfinished" mirror before. It doesn't look as shabby as it might sound. But the thought came to me,
A little preventative effort could have avoided this injury!
(Anyway, I'm kind of soft and a little pain and blood could toughen me up.)
I've been reminded several times lately of how many possible problems exist in the world, even with preventatives measure taken. Many times, I've had meticulous plans prepared and excitedly imagined,
How well everything will go! And then... the wrench!
Skrrrrrt! The machine halts.
Everyone every day is doing their very best to prevent every problem.
Police have a hundred laws to enforce.
The DMV and IRS have a thousand forms to fill out.
Medical facilities have a list of vaccines Americans can take to prevent the spread of disease.
And no matter how hard we try, new problems appear. And we make more laws and more forms and more vaccines to fix the problems. We will be on earth until Doomsday fixing problems. (And what's the point of perfecting if the last page just says, BOOM!)
If our time is consumed looking for problems to fix, we'll get discouraged real fast. But if we analyze a situation to see how it measures up to a divine standard, we can be encouraged to press on! Success is attainable!
Don't look for the negative.
Focus on the positive!
