What's in an attitude?

It was just one of those days where nothing was going right. I was ok, but scurrying to get things accomplished. She wasn't helping... Her negativity had increased to the point where the only thing to do was be very blunt with her. She usually chose to ignore me and complain anyway, but at least I had done what I could... As I came all but sprinting into the gym, I looked up to see her being pushed out of the doors. Before I could even form an apology for keeping her waiting, she spat out, "well, it's about time!" I grabbed the handles to her wheelchair, leaned over and asked, "do you think you could say something nice? Anything?" behind me I heard a combination of a gasp and a giggle from a coworker.

What is in an attitude? Can you control it? That day I remembered the words of a book I had read, called The Hiding Place.  Corrie Ten Boom and her family had been captured by the Nazis for the "crime" of helping the Jews escape from Holland. Let's repeat this, she was captured by the Gestapo for saving the lives of people who's only crime was to be born the wrong race. She had been separated from all but her sister. The two of them were placed in the notorious Ravensbruck death camp in Germany. Yet the two of them decided to maintain a good attitude despite their surroundings. Living in bug-infested straw, malnutrition, inadequate clothing against the winter, and daily beatings, the two women chose to maintain positivity rather than complaining about their circumstances. In her biography, Corrie describes that she arrived at her decision realizing that the Nazis had taken away everything and controlled everything about her life at that point. They could not, however, control her relationship with God and her attitude. She could choose to be content and there was nothing that her tormentors could do about it. She even chose forgiveness against her tormentors.  Shortly before her death, Betsie stated, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is deeper still."

No matter what, my Father calls me to have a positive attitude. He asks me to choose to trust in Him instead of getting mired in with my circumstances. Happy back to work after a nice holiday weekend everyone, here's a thought to start out your day:

"Happiness isn't something that depends on our surroundings...It's something we make inside ourselves." 
— Corrie Ten Boom