Give me a word, Lord: KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE DONUT AND NOT ON THE HOLE

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

I’m not sure who coined the phrase, “Keep your eyes on the donut and not the hole,” but I think whoever said that must have been a pretty wise person. Life is all about perspective. When we purchase a a sweet, freshly prepared donut, we do not generally take notice of the hole. No, we don’t look at that donut and salivate over the hole in the middle of the donut. The hole is nothing. It is emptiness. There is nothing really very exciting about a donut hole with the exception of it being calorie and carbohydrate free. It is the sweet, hot, glaze covered donut and all of its goodness that causes our mouths to water. That is where it is at, especially if it is chocolate covered!

However, in life, we waste a whole lot of time focusing on the hole and not looking at the donut. We waste time and energy focusing on all of the little, tiny aggravations of the day. We focus on the worries and fears. We focus on every single detail that annoyed us throughout the day from the time we rolled out of bed and stumped our toe until the time we climbed back into bed that night with shear exhaustion from our busy day. We focus on the hole. That stuff is really nothing. It is emptiness. There is nothing exciting about aggravations, worries, fear, annoyances or fatigue. We do not need to focus on the hole. It will not do us a bit of good.

Instead, we need to focus our eyes on the donut…the good stuff. Focus our eyes on the blessings of the day. Sometimes we have to look a little harder for those blessings, but I assure you that they are there. There are a million blessings in every single day, and each and every one is better than a whole dozen of donuts. The blessings begin with a beautiful early morning sunrise, the sound of birds singing, a touch of a loved one, a smile, a friendly hello, and the list goes on. We may be blessed with wonderful jobs, a cozy home, a reliable vehicle, a great spouse, children, and let us not forget the blessing of good health. We are blessed with food in our bellies and our pantries. And may we never forget the most wonderful blessing of all: the gift of salvation. Wow, what an amazing donut we have been given each and every day!

How do we learn to stop focusing on the hole and start focusing on and actually enjoying the donuts of life? We must develop an attitude of gratitude. We have learn to move from aggravation to appreciation. We must train ourselves to seek out the good in every situation rather than dwell on the bad. First and foremost, we must put our faith totally in Christ. When we learn to lean on Him for everything, and we realize that He is our strength and our might each and every day, we begin to develop that attitude of gratitude. When we place our complete trust in the Lord, we begin to see Him in every aspect of our lives, and then we can’t help but notice the little blessings that appear. We will then begin taking delight in the Lord, and with delight we feel joy, and with joy we start to see more blessings and have less stressing. Just like anything else in life, we have to develop a habit of looking at the donut instead of the hole. Sometimes we even have to retrain our brains.

I’ve been around people before who I refer to as “Negative Nelly’s.” You know the type. They are the people who never have anything good to say about anything. You could dump a load of cash in their laps, and they are only going to see the taxes that are due. They can’t see the silver linings. They see rain and think “mud,” when instead they should see rain and think, “the grass will grow and the flowers will bloom.” Yes, friends, we have to retrain our brains. We can’t run around with a negative attitude. We need to rethink about the way we are thinking. We need to look for the blessings in everything realizing that even in our trials there is good to be found. Rather than cursing the trial, we should ask, “what is God trying to teach me through this circumstance?”

The next time you look at a donut, make sure you pay attention to the donut and do not dwell on the hole. And the next time you get a little aggravated or annoyed, don’t dwell on that aggravation. Dwell on the Lord and the blessings of the day. The Lord and His Word are sweeter than honey from the comb, and He is so good to His children. Find the joy in the blessings of the day. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!