Inspired to be...Positive: Madison of The Wetherills Say I Do

Hey Everyone! Exciting! Madison of The Wetherills Say I Do is here today to share about a special lady who fought for her positivity. Thank you so much, Madison, for sharing this story with us! For those of you who have never visited The Wetherills Say I Do, it's a very encouraging faith and lifestyle blog where Madison writes about she and her husband's lives, cooking, blogging, designing, and much more. Stop on by after you read today's Inspired story:

When I think back to the person who was most positive in my life, I think of one person. It's not a parent or another family member. In fact, it's someone I didn't get along with at first. But now, she will always be a huge part of my life and who I have become. Her name was Debbie. She was a small group leader for a college group that I was a part of my freshman year in college. At first, we didn't click because I thought I knew what was best, typical 18 year old, right? Over the next six months after we met, we started to build a relationship. She had had cancer before and it was back. But that never stopped her from keeping her eyes on Jesus and moving forward.

 

I've never met someone so positive. No matter what was taken away from her (her strength, her control, her body, her life) she was always positive. There were rough moments where she was completely vulnerable and definitely showed her weakness, although it was never about faking it. But regardless of how she felt or looked, she always kept the "glass half full" mentality. I only knew Deb for a short amount of time, and I will always wish I had had more time with her. We always want more time, don't we? But in my time with her, she became like a second mom to me. She prayed weekly for her "High Point girls" that were a part of our small group. She hosted dinners at her house or took me out to breakfast, even though she couldn't drink coffee for fear of staying up all night, even if she had one cup at 9AM.

I envy her positivity because it's something we can all struggle to find. Something as little as a stained shirt can ruin an entire day, rather than it being a fleeting moment that doesn't affect the outcome of our day. Watching Debbie overcome the mental battle she faced with cancer was inspiring and awing. Here are a few things I think Deb would tell us to do to stay positive: 

• Focus on the good - There will always be rough patches. Focus instead on what is good right now. 

• Focus on what you can control - My dad has this huge lecture he used to give me about what's in your circle of control versus what's outside of it. It's a powerful illustration to realize what you're able to do and what you aren't. There's no use focusing on what you can't control or change because that just causes negative energy. 

• Focus on the eternal - We live in a very perishable world. We focus on material things that ultimately won't go anywhere with us. Instead we should focus on those things that God has given us that will continue with us. We can focus on the negative that nothing will come with us into eternity or we can focus on the positive that God already has so much stored for us in heaven that we don't need anything here. 

The main thing to staying positive is to learn to rely not on yourself, but on Him for your ultimate happiness. That's the end game.

Thanks again for being here today, Madison! This was a very impactful message. :) 

Stay positive, you guys and have a happy Wednesday!

-Song