Great News!

Mother Goose is honking and happy to report that only TWO people have had problems recently! Can we just get a round of “Wow”. Out of all the thousands of potential problem-bearers, only two of my readers actually had a problem! I’m overwhelmed with joy and gladness that most people are problem-free. Keep up the good work, my dear friends.

However, if you do have a problem and were too shy to share it with Mother Goose, that’s OK — I am a sensitive goose, and I completely understand. Just remember, I’m here for you day or night.

I read something so interesting this morning in my “Jesus Calling” devotional book. Listen to this with an open heart, pretend this is Jesus talking to you…

“Make friends with the problems in your life…the best way to befriend your problems is to thank Me for them…you can even give persistent problems nicknames, helping you to approach them with familiarity rather than with dread.”

Now doesn’t that just give you a new way to deal with problems? I have to say, Mother Goose just about fell out of her chair when she read those words! It’s revolutionary to even consider this!

Let’s just pretend that you have a problem with your pet. Your pet continues to “mess” on the floor whenever you leave the house for work or school or to run an errand. You consistently return home to find the “mess” on the floor. This is a persistent problem! You’ve grown frustrated with the pet, and frustrated with the situation.

The pup is so embarrassed by this problem.

But now, you have a new approach…make the house training problem your friend! First of all, be thankful for your problem. “Thank you, Jesus, that my pet messes on the floor. I know that You can bring goodness out of this problem.” Now, if your are comfortable with your sincere thankfulness for your problem, go ahead and name your friend/problem. In this case, we’ll name the problem, “Stinky”. Now greet your new “friend” with a gracious comment such as, “Welcome to my home, Stinky. I hope that you’ll stay awhile so we can get to know one another better.” You’ll want to be very familiar with Stinky so that you have no dread when we go out or when you return home. You’ll want to be glad about Stinky.

Once you’ve thanked the Lord for your friend and named your friend, simply open your mind to the possibility of benefits flowing from this difficulty. Cleaning up Stinky will keep your pride in check. A humble heart is a happy heart! You will possibly discover new cleaning products and maybe even meet new friends with similar friend/problems. Perhaps you’ll be able to bless others with the humor and thankfulness of befriending your problems.

Without being too irreverent, Mother Goose would like to add that “next steps” are just as important as “first steps” when it comes to problems. Introduce your friend/problem to Jesus, enabling Him to embrace it in His loving Presence. I would imagine an introduction like this: “Jesus, I’d like you to meet my dear friend, Stinky. Stinky, Jesus is here to help us, and I think maybe you’d like to go with Him to the park. It’s a really nice day outside — take your time coming home. I’ll be here — don’t worry. If you’d like to go away for a few days with Jesus, that’s fine with me too. Bye now! Have a nice time! And thank you, Jesus.”

He may not necessarily remove all of your problems, dear and gentle reader, but it never hurts to ask. And remember that He’ll always be there with you in the midst of them. And that’s a blessing. And Great News!