Things to be Miserable About?

There is a book near my desk that I take out whenever I need a pick-me-up. It's right next to the Bible.

Its title is, "11,002 Things to be Miserable About."

I'm kidding, the book is UNDER the Bible.

Anyway, it is a parody of the popular "14,000 Things to be Happy About," a book that lists sweet things to smile over.  The funny thing is, the miserable list makes me feel better than the happy list. Why is that?? It seems so wrong. And yet....

Here are some of my favorites:

• Baby lotion commercials that make it look like new mothers are happy and well-rested
• Canned green beans
• Canker sores
• Children raised by wolves
• Sixty-five year olds with Farrah Fawcett hairdo's
• Waking up feeling like your tongue is coated with fur
• People with chiseled abs
• Cafe's with free internet and no outlets
• Soft, silent weeping
• Page after page of "simple" instructions
• Chasing the ice cream truck but not catching it
• Self taught dentists
• Food prices at airports
• Lifting with your back instead of your knees
• The uselessness of the appendix
• Watery pasta sauce
• Accidentally printing a hundred-page document when you just meant to print one page

Maybe it's the silliness of being "miserable" about such things that cracks me up, or it could be it's just a sign that I have a warped sense of humor, but the book makes me realize how much little things can either drive you crazy...or make you laugh. 

Call it perspective.

This Christmas season, I want to have a perspecitve of gratitude and joy.  Even when enduring an exhausting customer service line, or dealing with a pie that refuses to set properly.  I know there will be some challenges in the coming days, but I want to choose to see the cup half full and the silver lining - all through rose-colored glasses.

Phil. 4:4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again--rejoice!

What are YOU choosing to rejoice over this Christmas?

Rachel Anne