Complain or Encourage

I really don't want to be one of those people who complain all the time, constantly telling everyone how horrible their life is and all the problems they have. It gets old reading facebook post after post about everything that's wrong with them and their life. And it's made me notice the people who are always positive and seem to enjoy life! I'm sure they have problems as well as everyone else, but they have that "glass 1/2 full" outlook.

The Bible even talks about complaining and being discontent, and how we should make sure our words are encouraging to others. I'm not gifted in the area of encouragement, and for whatever reason have a difficult time (for the most part) saying uplifting things to people or even giving compliments. I may think it in my head, but just don't say it out loud. Maybe a psychiatrist could figure out the deep rooted issues I have that make this such a problem... but I won't be seeing one of those any time soon.

Sometimes, though, it's just nice to vent, to let loose all the thoughts that are bottled up inside. I've been dealing with pain from my "female issues" for about a year and a half, landing in the emergency room again Tuesday night. On top of that, my neck and shoulder have been bothering me since Monday (after sleeping in a hotel bed, but who knows if that's the cause) and is getting worse - in fact, I could hardly sleep last night and it's been quite difficult to do the normal things I do with the kids this morning and was nearly impossible to drive since I can barely turn my head to either side. I've been praying for healing, but at this point the pain is still there. So I'll continue to pray and hope that the pain, in both areas of my messed up body, will subside quickly.

Now that I've had my moment to whine, I will do my very best to not keep talking about it. I don't want my complaints to bring anyone else down. And I surely don't want to become one of those annoying people who do nothing but look at the negatives in life and make sure everyone around them knows about it. I have wonderful kids, a nice home, a husband who loves me, a supportive church family and a savior who loves me more than I could ever know. I will focus, as best that I can, on all the blessings in my life and continue to work on being uplifting and encouraging to others!