Most everyone has to deal with mud. I guess. Unless you are a rich hermit, who never goes anywhere or sees anybody. Which, if that is the case – then, this blog post would probably bore you.

I don’t know any hermits though.

I love when it rains! The house gets so cozy inside. I want to snuggle under my comforter and quilts and read a good book. The air smells so fresh. The temperature cools off and all the allergens are washed out of the environment.

…but then (dadadum…) here comes THE MUD. Being the proud owner of a Great Dane – I can attest to the fact that after it rains, there is a LOT of mud!! Muddy paw prints everywhere! Tracked through the house – In the kitchen, down the carpeted stairs, across the carpeted living room, back up the stairs, through the living room and onto the white love seat! After the rain, I follow my Great Dane around with a mop and a steam cleaner. Cleaning up mud is not fun : ( and yet – somehow, we as humans, can be fascinated with mud.

When we were young we used to make mud pies and try to trick our little sister into eating one. (Well, I did.) Luckily, she was smarter than that.

As we got older, we found out that people can hurt us with words – usually behind our back and usually untrue. We call the people who do that – mudslingers. Politics is full of mudslingers. (Have you watched the news lately?) and I, have probably, at one time or another, been guilty of slinging mud.

Then, there are the mud bathers and the mud runners – which is supposedly good for you. I have done neither. The thought of sitting in mud with the hot, squelching heaviness, overwhelming my respiratory system and restricting my ability to breathe does not sound like fun. Bricks are made of mud. I wonder if that is how a brick feels? And then running through the mud? I already run like a turtle.

Wait a minute though… maybe my thoughts are getting all muddied. 

There is a saying – “if you pray for rain be prepared for the mud.” Life is always going to bring the rain and the mud. The rain is going to be good, but the mud is going to require a positive mind set. I know that when I am not feeling like being Positively, Debbie, I feel like I just want to go wallow in the mud.

When we live in the mud, we see ourselves as a “passive-victim” in our story – instead of seeing ourselves as the active writer. When I’m the passive-victim, I let myself feel like my actions and responses are determined by someone else – because, I forgot, that HEY! I am the writer of my story! (Me and my business/life coach just talked about this the other day.) 

The Bible says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

I guess, this renewing of the the mind is going to have to take place daily and it is going to have to happen by choice. When I make the choice to let God take the mop and the Pinesol – the mud is still there – so are the muddy paw prints, the hurtful mudslingers, and the mud pies that almost looked appetizing, but I am now allowing Him to clean it all up. I am not trying to control the mess by myself – because the more I control it – the messier it gets.

This positive mind-set is all in how I respond and when I respond correctly, it allows me to take one more step toward the life I want and the goals I want to achieve.

Now, a mud bath and a ToughMudder, doesn’t sound to bad after all. I’ll go add it my bucket list. Who wants to do a ToughMudder with me?

Renewing my spirit – day by day

Positively, Debbie.