It’s all in how you look at it:

afflictions or appreciation.

“Have you noticed the water smelling funny?” the concerned visitor asked his host.

Smiling, she explained, “Yes, after we get a good rain, the water always smells funny for a few days. The new water rushing into the rainwater tank stirs up the water already in it. So the bad smell means the tank got a needed restock of water.”

With that new information, what had seemed like something troubling was actually good news.

When we do not have all the information we need to see something clearly, we can quickly leap to the wrong conclusion. And become upset at what we just landed on. In this instance, the water smelled unpleasant, but when the visitor learned what had happened, he was no longer bothered by the strange odor. Knowing the severity of the area’s water shortage, he knew the refilled water tank was a welcome relief.

It’s a question of how we view things.

Is it an affliction?

Or actually something to be appreciated.