Have a Bad Day...It's Okay.

I have a friend at work, De'andre, and he's a very nice guy. Every day that I see him, he asks me how I am and I give him either a "Good" or a "Not bad" or a "Oh man, I'd rather be anywhere but here". I then turn his query back on him, "And how are you?" And the answer is always the same.

"The Lord blessed me this morning."

At first I was a little taken aback by this response. I suppose I'm so used to people taking the Lord's name in vain that when I hear Him praised for anything it surprises me. It also surprises me because it's not a standard "Fine" like I would expect.

In the beginning it lifted me to hear that reply. No matter what kind of a day I was having, I was reminded that it was a blessing from God just to be alive.

That was in the beginning.

After awhile it occurred to me, De'Andre's copping out! Here's a young man no more than his mid-twenties (if he's even twenty, that is) and he's already just happy to be alive. That's bullshit! Old people are just happy to be alive. Cancer sufferers are just happy to be alive. Cocaine abusers are just happy (sometimes) to be alive. Young, healthy men cannot settle for being happy simply because they are alive. They can be thankful, sure. They can praise the Lord for the sun each morning and praise him again when they head off to bed. But they'd better be doing something with that time in between.

It's okay to be angry, frustrated, sad, or tired. It's okay to have a bad day once in awhile and to complain every now and then. The key is to put positive action behind those feelings and make the world a better place.

Then you'll feel truly feel blessed every morning and all day long. And you might even find your feelings are contagious.