As the early morning rain ceased its assault and the storm moved on a little further down the road, I began to survey the damage done to the rose garden.  The rain fell in big angry drops, the kind that strips the petals from the roses and leaves them scattered and forgotten in the muddy soil below.  And as the sun slowly peaks through the clouds I watch as the steam rises and whispers a comforting word to our battered rose bush.

        I had come to this garden to behold things of beauty, but now all that was left was the tangled remains of a ravaged rose bush.  A few moments ago southern perfection was proudly on display, now a heap of soggy petals stubbornly cling to a battered thorn covered stem.  I came seeking a rosy dream world filled with perfume and sunshine; but here I stand in the mud saddened as I look on disillusioned and disappointed.

        Isn’t it strange, when things do not go our way how quick we are to complain and grumble?  When our plans are disappointed or we do not get what we want, what is the first thing we do?  We make sure everybody knows we are unhappy; we gripe, complain, make rude remarks under our breath and generally put our bad attitude on display for all to enjoy.  Why are we so quick to place blame and grumble when we fail to get our way?  Why do we content ourselves with cursing the darkness instead of simply lighting a candle?  We can enjoy 99 days of sunshine and instead of being thankful, we complain about the day it rained on our parade.

 
        There I am just about to let management have a piece of my mind, when, along came this gorgeous butterfly floating so gently and landed precisely in the spot I was gripping about.  And suddenly I realized that I had been given exactly what I had wished for, something beautiful to photograph.  Why do we grumble because you don’t have what we want—instead of being thankful we don’t get what we deserve?  Our lives are stuffed full of so many wonderful things that we would have to hire an accounting firm to count them all and yet we grumble over that one thing we do not have; shame on us.  Today, remember that happiness is a choice; choose to focus on the many wonderful gifts you have been given today, enjoy your blessings today and you will have less to grumble about.

Something to think about:

• Home: The place where we are treated best and grumble most.

• Most people don’t mind suffering in silence as long as everyone else knows about it.

• People are like autos—when they begin to knock, there is something wrong inside.

• Don’t complain about growing old—some do not have this privilege.

• As a rule, you will find that those who complain about the way the ball bounces are usually the ones who dropped it.

• The squeaking wheel doesn’t always get the grease. Sometimes it gets replaced.

• Watch your attitude toward the thing that troubles you. Your attitude may hurt more than the thing.

• Please don’t pray for rain if you are going to complain about the mud.

Thankful that thorn bushes have roses
Rickey Moore