Christmas morning, I woke with a scratchy throat--mildly annoying was all it was for several hours. But by the evening, I couldn't stay awake at our family Christmas gathering, and my throat was on fire. A couple of days later, I was at the doctor being tested for strep. Believe it or not, I was a bit disappointed when the test came back negative. Not that I actually wanted strep, mind you, but an antibiotic would have been a relatively easy and quick fix. Instead, I was told it was a virus and would have to run its course.
I became so sick and weak that I could hardly get out of bed for over a week. I missed out on so much, because there were family and friends in town just for that week. I had looked so forward to seeing them, but, instead, I had to be apart from them. Also, my hubby had that week off from work, and we didn't get to go do anything fun.
Not the worst circumstances of my life, but still a big bummer.
I
didn't completely succumb to the numerous invitations to a pity party bash that loomed over my consciousness for days, but, for some
reason, I found myself thinking about what the criteria would be for
having the best pity party ever. I mean, if you're going to do it,
you might as well make the most of it and do it right. Right?
So, if you want to have a fabulous pity party, here are some ideas:
(Pssst!
I'm being facetious! I don't really want any of us to have a pity party!)
1.
Focus only on negatives. Make a list of everything wrong in your
life, every annoying person you know, everything that bugs you or is
going wrong. Keep dwelling on this list, reviewing it in your mind
over and over again. Do not count blessings!
2.
Surround yourself with negative people. Negative only--no
one who likes to look at the bright side of things. That kind of
talk will slowly (or quickly!) kill a pity party.
3.
Listen to depressing music. Create a playlist of breakup songs or
other kinds of sad music. Do not play the Christian radio station or
any music that talks about the love of God.
4.
Eat lots of sugar. You really want to get as much of a sugar high as
possible, so you'll get a nice low crash that will affect your
emotions negatively. Save the salad and the protein and the healthy
food for another day. You don't want it interfering with your pity
party.
5.
Don't read your Bible, and, heavens to Betsy, do NOT pray or ask
anyone to pray for you! God's Word and prayer are major pity party
poopers. They just don't belong at a fabulous pity party.
Okay,
I think you get the idea. If we actually choose the very opposite
of each of these "tips," we'll be choosing joy! Joy is so much more
rewarding than a pity party. We may still not be happy, but we'll
be choosing the attitude of joy.
I'd
like to encourage you and myself today to choose joy instead of a
pity party. It's fine to be sad over sad circumstances,
but we don't need to wallow in it or use it as an excuse to check out
of life.
In
the Bible, Paul tells us that he is exceedingly joyful in all
tribulation (2 Corinthians 7:4). And James instructs us to consider it pure joy when we
encounter trials, because the end result of that process is
completeness (James 1:2-4).
So,
the next time any of us is tempted to throw ourselves a big pity
party, I hope we'll try to make the best of our situation instead.
It's a different idea than what we often hear, or than what comes
naturally to us as humans, but let's be bold enough to do things
differently!
----------------------
In my newest eBook
novel, A Safe Place to Land, Jag Marley indulges in a dangerous, weekend-long pity party with far-reaching consequences. Find out more--available in the Amazon Kindle store!
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