A few weeks ago, my husband and I were walking along the bike path and were enjoying the glorious fall weather. The sun was shining, the days were warm and we were basking in the perfect weather. The trees were gorgeous and we were taking in the breathtaking colors of the leaves. Truly, the days seemed like the perfection of creation.

Then….the nights grew cold and the days were only a little warmer. The trees began to lose their leaves and we could see the bare branches. “The leaves have lost their trees!” I wailed to my husband and he concurred laughing, “Yes Valerie, the leaves have lost their trees.”

I knew we were moving into that dreaded season of winter: cold days, ice, snow, fog, and gray days without the sun. The weatherman had the nerve to proclaim the first snow of winter was on the way. I was bummed when I heard that announcement and awoke the next morning to see dark clouds covering the sky.

The first thing I said to my husband was, “It’s going to be a gray day!” He in turn said, “No, it’s going to be a grayt day!” Usually I am irritated with his unabashed optimism so early in the morning, but for some reason or another, I was willing to look at the day from his perspective. His words changed my whole day, and instead of focusing on the weather, I began to look for positive things I could be thankful for.

At the end of the day, I had hardly focused on the weather, and was just moving through the day like I ordinarily do. Hardly one to be a Pollyanna about bad weather, I even found the verse, “This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it,” floating through my mind.

I hope to take his words, “It’s going to be a grayt day!” through this winter. There will be plenty of dark cloudy days with ice and snow. There will be lots of bad weather to complain about if I want to. This coming winter I hope to look at life from a different perspective. I want to give up my life-long habit of complaining about the cold and instead look for whatever positive I can find. Maybe I will even buy another string of twinkle lights to put up in the house!

Verse taken from NKJV – Psalm 118:24.