Spider Bite

I just returned from teaching and ministering in Mexico’s second-largest city, Guadalajara. It’s a beautiful, modern place, with amazing artistic architecture. But apparently they also have poisonous spiders, because I got bitten by one of them while there.

For real. My leg swelled up like a log. And hurt like a root canal for days. And yet still, despite all this it was   a  wonderful trip. In fact, I had a blast. Wish I was still there.

Oh, sure, the spider bite was a bummer, but I learned also something from an experience: that whether or not you love or hate a certain period of your life has a lot to do with your focus when you’re going through it. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things…and the God of Peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:8-9). My wife Diane put it more succinctly: “Be sure to enjoy your time in Guadalajara, ’cause you’ll miss it later.”

She was right. I do. And with this in mind, I was able to get my mind off of my “owie” and onto the beautiful people and things around me. I changed my focus from the negative to the positive, and in doing so changed both my attitude and the quality of my experience.

And yes, my leg is all well now, which I attribute to God’s keeping and healing power, since I’m told that bites of this type can be very serious. But that aside, is it possible that somethings going wrong in your life right now? If so – and I know it can be hard to do this – let me encourage you to lift your eyes from the problem to all that’s going right in your life you at the moment. Think about those who love you. Call a friend, take a walk, have a nice cup of coffee, and drink in the beauty that seems to be everywhere at this time year. As the T-shirt says. “Life is Good.” It really is.

So as difficult as it may seem, when we shift your focus from our challenges to our blessings, God of Peace brings peace to our hearts. And yes, He fixes our problems, too.

David

You can check out my new novel Falling for Chloe here: Falling for Chloe

Hope you love it!