Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. William Shakespeare

Today a new President of the United States is sworn in and the world trembles, or will these next four years pass with some good and some not so good happening, with unexpected consequences benefiting some and harming others?

Do we have faith we can deal with the challenges ahead? No one knows what is ahead, but we all know it will be different. We see change is coming, but what if changes weren’t coming? Would life be better? Better for whom?

In the game of life, there are winners and losers and no one minds being on the winning side, but when we think we might not be on the winning side we’d like to stop the changes.

My parents lived through a lot of change, some good, some not so good, but they rode the roller coaster of life to the end. My parents lived through one world war, and my grandparents lived through two. We will live through the changes coming, some we may fear but never face, and some we aren’t worrying about will hit us with a force that brings us to our knees.

Is faith what will get us through, faith in ourselves, our countries, our fellow citizens, and our governments? Do we have faith in a higher power? We often don’t know what the ignition point of a powder keg will be, and we feel a powder keg building up with inflation, immigration, the rich getting richer, wars, and rumors of wars.

Is it possible to live in a precarious world with faith to deal with what comes? Hasn’t it always been a precarious world? What can we do in our own lives to make life less precarious? Being part of a strong family is a safe harbor in times of trouble. If we are resilient and able to see what is still possible and make the best of what is, life will be better than if we feel we are victims of circumstances.

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart. Johann Wolfgang

Victimhood does not build a good life, what is the difference between facing hard challenges and feeling like a victim? When we face hard challenges do we have to find the courage to deal with what is, and when we feel like victims do we not take advantage of what we can do to make our lives better?

We are told we always have a choice, sometimes the only choice is our attitude, sometimes our choice is between two goods, and sometimes we have to choose the best of the bad. Our choices might be for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Is what we stand up for, rail against, and support, for the greatest good? Do we even know what the greatest good would be? We always come up against the unexpected consequences of our decisions. Sometimes we get good consequences from bad policies and bad outcomes from what we thought would be good.

What are we reaping today because of policies that seemed good? Are we too short-sighted to know what the best policies are? What does a fair and just society look like and are we closer or further away from one than we were years ago?

Policies are in place and many were made with the best of intentions. When we see policies not working do our governments have the strength to turn things around? Will there be unexpected consequences for every change we try to make?

We might think we know the obvious direction we need to go. But we don’t know, we can’t know what the unintended consequences of our best intentions will be.

Even if we fear what the future holds can we be grateful for what we have? Building our country and making life better for our citizens is the government’s job. We need to trust the leadership we’ve chosen, and as we choose new leadership make the best choice, and have faith that they will do their best.

Is it best to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst?

Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Choose to stay positive and be the strong person that God created you to be! Unknown

No one else can choose your attitude for you. Your perspective and choice of attitude gives you the power to be in control. Irene Dunlap

Choose the positive. You have choices, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success. Bruce lee

Thank you for reading this post. Please return and read more and have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

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