rumitoid

About thirty years ago, I came down with a severe lung infection. This is not something I would pray for or see as a gift. At the time I was a pack a day smoker. But for almost three weeks I was in abject misery; it was hard enough to breathe, let alone smoke. When the infection finally cleared, I was free from that addiction. Almost drowning out on a lake with my younger brother when I was seventeen helped me to snap to an awareness about how important and good life and family was; had pretty much taken it for granted. Getting a huge shiny red pimple on the end of my nose the day before the prom, helped me to see how invested I was in appearances and the acceptance of others. (That came mostly from the jokes of my friends; they were merciless.) I was also forced to see how I let the appearances of others affect my perceptions. Without some measure of grace, all of the above might have just been an excuse for complaint and whining. "Woe is me." No rhyme or reason to any of it just Fate. I call such things the Awful Mercies of God. I do not see them as God taking us to the woodshed, punishing us for our unseeing, but as a form of discipline that encourages us to grow, with his spirit in assistance.

Not that I always do, but I now usually look to take it that in every moment God is working for my ultimate well-being, no matter what it looks like on the surface. Yet it was not until I was in my late forties did I try the practice of no complaint, on the belief that God is actually making everything work in my favor. On the first day of that practice I stopped logging my complaints at ten. I was astounded at my penchant to complain. It was not openly complaining (telling off some store clerk for bad service, mouthing off about some politician, commenting on the bad weather) but having a seed or flowering discontent about something in my day. It may be that I am just hyper-critical and no one else, or maybe a few, have a problem with complaint. However, over the two decades that have passed since I first tried the practice of No Complaint, my experience says most people complain too much, and barely take notice of it.

My suggestion for this thread is two-fold: relate your experiences of the worst making you better as well as your experiences of practicing No Complaint, which I think will be a fun experiment into how you think. Be warned: discernment and object observations are not necessarily complaint but rather insights into reality and truth.

susanblange Loc: USA

Only God can see into the future and he will do what is best for us. In the present, something may seem bad, but in the long run it works out for the best. I have noticed this in my life and it happens in the lives of the righteous. It may seem that God is not answering a prayer, but he really is listening and working.

rumitoid

Thank you. You said it better than I could.