By nature I guess I’m what you would call an optimistic person. Although I see myself as a realist optimist. You give me a situation and I’ll give you the bright side. It’s just ingrained in me. But I’m not going to lie sometimes it’s even hard for an optimistic person to be bright and shiny all the time when they are surrounded with so much negativity.

When I speak I talk about how important having a support system is. It’s about the people that you surround yourself with. And as cliché as it may sound you are who you hang out with. If you hang with negative people then you will become negative. It’s just the nature of the beast. I try to make sure that I surround myself with people that are my cheerleaders and encourage me (and I do the same for them). I want positive in my life. Life is negative enough and we don’t need our peers to bring us down faster and effect our attitude.

Yesterday I was just having one of those days. The negative, negative and negative had been building up. I was on the verge of a break down or at least a good cry. I woke up in the mood and started carrying it on with me throughout my day. By lunchtime I just needed a break. I got in my car drove to a drive thru and just sat there and ate. I needed sometime to just be still. I have been in pain which wears on your body and your mind. I feel like I need rest but I’m not really getting it. I felt uneasy about my job. Real estate is not the most upbeat career (which is what helped make me a realist). I felt like I was failing at what I was hired to do. Sometimes I just feel like a light in a dark world. Or as I like to put in trolls terms I’m the Poppy in a Branch world. And honestly I love knowing that I’m His light. I want to be that….that is part of my purpose in this world. But when you feel surrounded by Branch people and situations it can be hard even for an optimist.

But then I remembered a sermon I had just recently heard (and honestly something that I normally try to remind others of but I just needed to hear it myself) is that God has you exactly where HE wants you. Not where I might want myself but where HE wants me. I’m there for a reason. I have purpose. So basically suck it up buttercup God has a purpose for you right where you are Mandy! Sometimes I need those mental spankings to get my head back in the game and remind myself that as much as my generation so wants me to believe that my life is all about me….it’s not at all. His plan. His purpose. That’s all that matters.

Later last night my mom and I went to dinner. I saw a guy that was sitting at the bar that I’ve known since high school and who I’m friends with on facebook. We exchanged hellos and how are yous and then mom and I headed to our table. I sat there explaining my day to my mom. I just needed to vent and get it off my chest. We had some great mother daughter time. At the end of our meal we asked for our checks and our waitress informed us that our meal had already been paid for already from a gentleman that was sitting at the bar. I said did he have on a blue shirt and she said yes. I went straight to facebook messenger and asked him if he paid for our meal. He answered with scripture “ My food, said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”-John 4:34 and then said With your faith and your Mom's love all near shall know the righteous path of God!!#TRUEROLEMODEL

I was in shock. You just never know who you are impacting by just being you. You never know who’s watching you live your life. You never know who is noticing your light when you think it’s being hidden. When you are shining for Jesus you are always shining.

So just in case you need what I needed yesterday. Here’s your reminder: You are exactly where you need to be. Be content and shine for Him. You are impacting those around you even when you don’t know it. Continue to be a cupcake in a muffin world. And don’t be shocked if you catch yourself singing “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine….This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shiiiiiiiiine!!

 

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.…” Matthew 5:14-15