I love the Winnie the Pooh books, especially as an adult. Two of my favorite characters are Eeyore and Piglet because they show us two very different personalities that we can relate to. Eeyore always looked at life through a negative lens. Piglet was… well, just Piglet, positive and happy. Piglet would be refreshing to be around. Eeyore would have the opposite effect.
This morning I was reading some Bible passages about believers refreshing other believers. Titus, the Corinthians, the Romans, and Philemon all refreshed Paul. As I read these passages, I stopped to consider, am I refreshing to others, or do I have the opposite effect? Am I a Piglet or an Eeyore?
What qualities in others refresh me?
- A positive attitude; someone who can see good in any situation, no matter how hard
- Transparency and vulnerability; someone who’s willing to be real
- Christ-focused and others-focused; someone who points me to Jesus
- A Piglet
What qualities would not refresh me?
- Someone who complains about everything
- Someone who is always negative and can’t see any positives; pessimistic, the glass is always half-empty
- Someone who is self-focused, and it’s always about them
- An Eeyore
Yesterday I was visiting my 97-year-old mom in the nursing home, and even though she said very little, her smile refreshed me. This picture was taken yesterday. Mom has been declining in health, especially since a week-long stay in the hospital. She could be bitter and negative because she can’t see, walk, hear, and talk very much. But instead, she refreshes others. Many of the residents comment to me, “She always has a smile on her face. I just love her.”
Mom refreshes others, even at 97, by her smile and sweet heart. I want to be like that. But am I?
Paul addressed Philemon as a Piglet, someone who refreshed others. “For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother” (Philemon 7).
A good question for us to consider today: Am I refreshing to others? If not, what needs to change? Am I a Piglet or an Eeyore?
