“My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy”                                                                                                                                                                         James1:2 (NRSV)

Do you have a favorite character? A fictional character from TV, movies, or cartoons that you really relate to? I do. 

My favorite character of all time is (insert drum roll here to add excitement) … Eeyore, from the Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

You know him – the little, grey donkey with the pinned on tail. I like to think it is his cute persona that draws me to him; however, I am afraid it is because I can so easily relate to Eeyore’s perspective on life. 

Eeyore, with his signature line “O bother,”  shares nuggets of wisdom which are generally negative.  When stuck in a troublesome situation, which happens to be every time he opens his eyes, he bleats a caution to all. Usually something very uplifting for the group like “We’ll never make it.” Eeyore even has his own space properly named: Eeyore’s gloomy place, and sometimes he even travels around with his very own little black rain cloud. His dreary personality is reflected right down to his droopy eyes and his drab grey color. 

Despite the fact that this lovable little character is modeled after a pack animal, he is very human. He personifies the disparity of the human condition.

 As humans, we have the tendency to evaluate circumstances and situations based solely on the surface. Typically, during trying times, the outlook isn’t too good and it is easy to gravitate toward the negative. Sometimes we get stuck in our own negativity – we get stuck with the Eeyore perspective. We fail to look deep enough to see how God is working through us for the better moment by moment, day by day. 

Considering this, I believe there is a better reason I am drawn toward the character of Eeyore. It isn’t just because I can relate to the feeling of having my own little black rain cloud overhead. It is because Eeyore is generally wrong. While he points out the obvious pitfalls of every situation, entire episodes are devoted to the adventures of his friends who prove him wrong. Through all of the trials and mishaps, they always find the good.

Point being: Every little black rain cloud has a silver lining and we are challenged to find it. If we don’t look for the good, our negative, Eeyore mentality not only brings us down but those around us as well. 

I recently saw a poster of a large glass of milk that was half full – or was it half empty? Either way, you get the picture. To the side, an arrow labeled milk where the liquid was drawn and then another arrow pointed out the rest of the space and labeled it as air. The caption along the bottom read: Always 100% full.

So, why not change your perspective. No matter your circumstances. No matter how many empty, gloomy spaces there are in your life. Allow Jesus to make you 100% full. By concentrating on the good we can minimize the bad. Even on the darkest, stormiest day, it is still 100% sunny beyond those clouds. Dark clouds are only temporary. God is eternal. 

Let God change your perspective and change your life.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”                                                                                                          Philippians 4:8 (NIV)