“I have to go to the store now.”

“Well, I guess I have to go to work.”

“I wish all this stuff would just happen on its own!”

How many times do you say or hear others say they “have to” do something…with a hint of whine, reluctance, or disdain? Perhaps we don’t want to work our way across that super store, finding the few items we want among the rows and rows of options, people who are grumpy like us, and cashiers who seem to want to be anywhere but there.

Not everyone has the options we have to shop where we shop and to be able to afford it. Not everyone has the opportunity and ability to work. We often take our blessings for granted, and whine and complain about them. We get bored.

We need a fresh perspective.

It’s not that we need to be overly excited about everything going on in our lives. We just don’t have to see our routines as drudgery. We don’t have to see the limitations of our lives without realizing we made many of the choices that got us where we are (and were often excited about those choices at the time)…and that we have the opportunity to make many choices today that impact tomorrow.

And we choose our attitudes.

Perhaps you’re dealing with some difficult stuff today, and it seems out of your control. Yet, you can control how you respond. Like the saying goes, “You might be given a cactus, but you don’t have to sit on it.”

Filter every detail of your life today through God’s perspective. See the blessings in the routine and in the turmoil. Notice the opportunities you have and choices you make. Pay attention to your attitudes.

Trim the whining, whether it comes out of your mouth or stays in your head. It’s tainting your joy…and those around you.