Lent day 6 Glass half full

( Must remember to put six pence in my jar)

Theres an advert on the telly at the moment for a well known brand of alcoholic beverage.  In the advert a man dressed as an angel says  ' Ask not if the glass is half full or half empty.  Ask what's in the glass'    A clever refrain and one which I think goes a bit deeper than merely which beer you choose to buy in your next supermarket shop.

This weekend I was home with Mum.  She wasnt feeling very well when Ben and I arrived, and she had convinced herself she had something seriously wrong with her.  But after a trip to the GP on Friday she was much more upbeat having been told she had a kidney infection and given some antibiotics.  Then a kitchen cupboard door fell off this morning and she seemed to think she was the victim of some huge cosmic conspiracy to make her life miserable .   It reminded me of a friend of mine who went through a very tough divorce and went from being a reasonably happy go lucky upbeat person to seeing every small bump in the road as the end of the world.    Pain and sleeplessness,  depression and sadness can suddenly turn you from a glass half full to a glass half empty person.   But of course, the point is that what is in the glass hasnt changed.  Its just how you view it.

So.   What is in your glass?

Is your glass full of your past, your present your future?  Your family and friends and kids.?  Your job and career prospects and mortgage and bills?   Maybe it's full of health problems or caring responsibilities or concerns for other people.    I think you can probably get an idea of what fills your glass by working out  1) What do you spend most of your time doing and 2) what do you spend most of your time thinking about.  If you are anything like me you will have worked out that your glass is pretty full of ' stuff' and not so much full of God.

What I like about the picture above is that it gives a different perspective.  The glass isnt half full or empty.  Its completely full but only half is visible.   Regardless of our optimism or pessimism, God fills the rest of our glass.  Yes, we have ' stuff'.  But we also have Him.   Most of the time we are so focused on what's in the bottom of the glass we don't stop to consider the air which is taking up the rest of it.  But He is the air we breathe.

Perspectives change.  Nothing lasts forever, especially feelings.  My Mum's mind was put at ease by her doctor and her view of the half empty glass changed somewhat.  My divorced friend eventually met someone new.  My own glass was more than half empty for a long time as I tried not to be overwhelmed by depression......... but now the glass seems to be half full again - and guess what, the contents of the glass havent changed !!!

So this Lent, rather than focusing on what is in the glass let us lift our eyes and look above our circumstances.  Let's invite God to rest in the spaces, fill the empty places and cover every situation we are facing.  As He infuses us with His presence the contents of our lives are going to start to taste and smell and look like Him.  And when that happens our cups can overflow to others.