I recently mentioned how we've been spending some time on Friday evenings having simple fun at home as a family. Last week we played Apples to Apples Junior and I wound up with this card.
Tim and I just looked at each other and laughed. The kids asked what was so funny. One was convinced it was because green apples, as seen on every card, actually taste a little bitter. They were wrong. The truth, which isn't funny at all, is that I'm bitter. Really bitter. And I have been for a long time.
I'm currently going in for counseling every few weeks because I hit a point where I just couldn't live with myself anymore. Not in suicidal sense, but life was just so miserable for me ... and therefore miserable for everyone I live with. I can't control all of life's circumstances, none of which have changed, but I do have the freedom and responsibility to choose my attitude. I just couldn't figure out how to do that on my own. So I asked for help.
I'm so thankful for people who call out our poor behavior and validate our feelings, speak the truth in such a way that we want to change instead of getting defensive, flip through the Bible on their lap as they share verses to encourage and challenge us, give practical suggestions that prove to be very effective, and clearly care about us as individuals (and our families, if we have them), not just a problem to fix.
It's an understatement to say I'm still a work in progress, but I feel hopeful for the first time in ages. Maybe one day we'll be playing this game and chuckle because I get the "bitter" card, one that obviously doesn't describe me anymore. One day.
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