Hi friends! I have been so challenged personally as I wrote this 10 day Optimist Challenge, and God did a work on my heart throughout this whole two weeks.  Based on all of your comments, I believe that He did work on a lot of your hearts too! I want to extend a special thanks to all of you participated, and I have been so encouraged by your comments and the sharing of your personal struggles.

I feel led to share with you, that if I were to make a comprehensive list of the situations occurring in my life right now which threaten to steal my joy and optimism, I would need an entire page! So when God nudged me to focus on being optimistic, He not only had plans to encourage all of you through the words He provided, but also to keep me encouraged as I walk through these storms.

Although I would like to think that these storms will pass quickly, it does not appear that they will – and I can only imagine, that many of the storms or challenges in your life right now may also seem large, overwhelming, and maybe even long term.

So as a result, I felt a holy nudge to provide you with one last challenge (a bonus challenge, if you will; as if you needed something else to work on!).

There have been times when I would meet someone who seemed so optimistic, happy and always wearing a smile….. and my secret thoughts would go something like this…… “She is such an inspiration. Always positive and happy. Hmmppph.  I bet she doesn’t really have any problems in her life. If she had to deal with what I was going through, she might be not be so happy.”

Have you ever thought that?!  We assume that since someone else is positive and joyful, that their life is surely void of problems, or at least the problems that they do have are not that difficult. 

But friends – the more likely scenario is that the person has learned to have joy, and optimism, because of her relationship with Christ, not because of her lack of negative circumstances or negative people or sin in her past.

Optimism truly is a matter of the heart. It is not going to be found in some mysterious paradise where there no strife or trouble present, but instead, it is a state of mind that overcomes negativity in the midst of chaos.

Optimism is not just a one-time goal to meet, but a personal commitment to God that we have to choose to live in every day – not because life is perfect, but because He is.