Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

I'm sure I've written about this before, but it is something I need to deal with again. Every so often, if something goes well, I am afraid to enjoy it. I am afraid that if I let go and really enjoy it, I'll feel guilty when things spiral downward again. I start to feel guilty enjoying some of life's pleasures.

I especially feel guilty when something good happens for me or to me, at the same time that something like Haiti's disastrous earthquake happens. It doesn't seem right to enjoy myself when so many thousands are suffering.

When this happens, I usually try to sit myself down and have a good talk with myself. I have to remind myself that God never promised us a rose garden, true, but he didn't promise us unending misery, either.

The easiest way for me to deal with it is in my nightly ritual of thanking him for the things that went right that day. In those moments of my "Thank you, God, for..." list, the pleasures of the day fit right in. I can remember them with joy and pleasure, and in the right frame of mind. That's when I realize how good God is to me, to us.

Thank you, Dear Father, for all the times you have blessed me with some of life's pleasures and helped me to enjoy them the way you hoped I would.