The Glass Is Now Half Full

I previously wrote about how my wife and kids always find joy in every circumstance they encounter and how I was going to strive to see things from their perspective.  I think I finally figured out their way of thinking.  It's not really their way of thinking, it's God's way of thinking. They know that God is with them constantly everyday and they trust that he is in control of all things that happen to them. 

I realized something was different about my wife from the first day I met her.  She was living in the worst circumstances, yet she had an attitude of joy and peace I can't even start to describe.  I met her in the finals of a nine-ball tournament in a pool hall and she totally beat my pants off.  Then she was using the money to buy food and things for homeless people in the city of Houston.  I started seeing her at every pool tournament and became friends with her.  As I got to know her I realized she was homeless herself, but she lived, dressed, held herself up like she was the richest person on earth.  I found out that she had been engaged to be married to a prestigious young man who her family picked for her. A magnificent wedding was planned and relatives from all over the country and out of the country flew in for it. Then on the day of this fairy tale wedding, the groom didn't show up.  He had decided at the last minute that he wasn't ready for marriage and he left town.  Her entire family lost face with the community and were shamed.  Her family blamed her, saying the groom bailed out because she wasn't good enough for him or that she had done something to cause him to change his mind.  They banned her from their home and told her she had to leave the household because she had brought disgrace upon them.  With no job, no money, just the clothes on her back and a beat up old Toyota Celica, she drove to the community college she was attending and parked in their student parking lot. A few days later the car quit running and so she walked everywhere she went and slept in her car at night.

But, even with all had happened to her, she was still joyful, smiling, constantly working to feed and help the people living on the street that she said were less fortunate than her.  They didn't even have a broke down car to sleep in like she did, she said.  She was earning enough money from pool tournaments each month to rent a apartment, but she chose to use it to help the less fortunate rather than use it to make her own life more comfortable. 

Then one day I didn't see her at the pool tournament.  She had gotten a job, got her car fixed and was going to college full time now. But she still continued to help the poor and the less fortunate on the street all she could.  This is the girl I fell in love with.  And though she turned down my first three proposals, she finally said yes to my fourth one. 

Now we have a cute little house, a van, and two wonderful children who have the same joy and perspective she has.  And when something bad happens, no matter how bad it seems, they always find the good in it. 

When the hurricane came, knocked out the electricity and water for months, tore part of our house down, and demolished everything that was outside, they rejoiced.  "Now we can try out our new camping equipment and tents!", they shouted.  And for the next two months they were joyous everyday, as they struggled to live, eat, and sleep under the stars.  They spent their time helping the neighbors and looking for other people that needed help.

Even now, out house is still not all in one piece.  The floors are without carpet.  Water leaks through our roof.  Junk is piled up everywhere and most of our things are destroyed.  The insurance didn't pay enough to fix everything that needed repairing.  Yet, my family goes on living like their the most blessed people on the earth.  Like my little girl says, "We still have each other."