By The Rev. Thomas M. Boles, PhD., DMin., D.D.

Edmond once vowed that he and his family would never be homeless. But, a short time later, he lost his job, and then fire destroyed their home. Suddenly, they were homeless. Their only option was a shelter.

At the end of the first day there, Edmond’s prayer was, “Lord, get me out of here.” His attitude was extremely negative. In his opinion, the shelter’s rules were humiliating. Residents had to be escorted across the street to the mission hall for their meals. They had to attend a church that helped support the shelter. When residents found work, they were expected to put 70 percent of their paycheck in a savings fund toward the day when they could move out of the shelter.

After pouring out all his complaints to the shelter’s director, Edmond had a restless night. He realized that he had been focusing all his attention on getting out, rather than on what he might do to make things easier for his family. That night, he changed his attitude. He started by taking a glass of water to a coughing man in the next room.

Nine months later, Edmond and his family had a home again. But he didn’t forget what he had learned. He still visits the shelter, saying, “Wherever you are, God is there too. Attitude, not circumstances, made the real difference to his life.”

The right train of thought can take you to a better station in life.

For as he thinks within himself, so he is

Proverbs 23:7