What Faith Can Do
At one of our God and Coffee events at church we were having discussion about what was going on in our world. There were a lot of negativity and people were losing hope in humanity for all the chaos that was happening. When I shared an unfamiliar perspective, Father Dale commented I have a Pollyanna look at life.
People laughed and I had no clue what the statement meant. So, I went and looked it up. A Pollyanna Spirit means we look at the world as eternally optimistic. The saying refers to always striving to look on the bright side and hope for the best, no matter what.
If I come across as an eternally optimistic person, I will take that as a compliment.
It seems harder and harder to stay optimistic in our world today. The political ads on TV show our world is more about tearing down then building up. The unstable world we live in with wars, natural disasters and worry about climate change. Then there is a look at our own health as we are getting older. The worry of our parents and friends as the approach the end of life. We are living through some challenging times. The weight of the world sometimes makes it hard to stay positive. It is harder and harder to keep that “Pollyanna Spirit.”
So, we all need to get back to a spirit of optimism. The question is, “How do we do that?” The answer for all of us in faith. We need to place God back at the center of our lives. In this time of desperation, it is time to turn back to what we believe. He is the one that is in control. He is the one we should all turn to guide our ways. With him all things are possible. He invites us to be his children. Imagine, to be a kid again!
In my house I have poster that says, “I Want to Be Six Again.” The poem is a letter of resignation to being an adult and going back to the basics when we were kids, when we had that Pollyanna Spirit. It gives the advice to remember that any dispute could be settled with hug, or when we were willing to share our M&Ms and everyone was happy.
Do you remember as a child we dreamed we could do anything and never heard the word impossible? We need to get back to laughter and hope. We need to turn back to God who showers us with hope and love. It is time to put our faith into action and honestly believe with God’s help we can change this world.
It is time to believe!