Do everything without grumbling or arguing. (Phil. 2:14)

I scurried into my office and pushed the door shut behind me. In my hurry, I didn’t make sure it caught. There was a slight gap between the door and the frame—just wide enough for a curious Yorkie to stick her nose through. As I connected to the Zoom meeting, I heard snuffling, and the door swung open as Lilly ambled in.

She walked in a circle, ran to the door, and skidded to a stopped. She turned and stared at me, trying to communicate telepathically. I tried to focus on the discussion on the screen, but Lilly’s pacing distracted me. Suddenly, I realized the problem—she had gotten in, but the door wasn’t open wide enough for her to get out.

I opened the door, and she scampered out without another glance. She had gotten what she wanted—to be in the same room with me—but once she got it, she decided she would rather be in the room she had just vacated.

Isn’t that just like us? At this time last year, we were in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown. We longed to go back to normal and still do. The Israelites also longed for normal after the Lord rescued them from Pharoah in Egypt. In fact, they berated Moses for leading them out.

Longing for things from our past—in this case, pre-COVID normal—is human nature, but we should also realize when normal isn’t working. How many of us (I’m looking at myself here) complained because we had too many activities on our schedules and not enough time? Then when our schedules were cleared, we complained about that. No matter what we’re pursing, we often realize it’s not what we thought it would be once we get it.

We’re a complaining people. We want what we can’t have. We complain to relieve stress or because we can’t solve a problem. And COVID-19 is both stressful and a problem we can’t solve on our own.

Some of us have truly difficult lives and face hard things daily. If that’s you, please know I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to people like me who have full lives but have focused on what we don’t have.

How can we overcome our tendencies to complain?

Practice gratitude

What are you thankful for today? When we take our eyes off our problems, we can find many things for which to be thankful. Write them down so that you can read over the list when you’re having a particularly down moment and need a reminder of God’s goodness to you.

Pray

Have a conversation with God. Tell him your worries, fears, and complaints, but also tell him how grateful you are for the blessings you have. Praise him for who he is. When we focus on praising God’s character and looking for our blessings, we’ll find our attitude changes, and our spirits lift.

Serve others

This one has been more difficult for me since the pandemic began. The places where I served in groups, such as church, no longer felt safe. So I found ways to serve in other ways. I pray for friends and family and reach out when I haven’t heard from someone in a while. When we’re helping others, we don’t have time to think about ourselves.

Complaining leads to a bitter spirit, and we would be well served to stop bitterness before it takes root. We often don’t even realize we’re complaining, but when we do, we should take steps to turn our hearts and our attitudes around. Lean on Jesus, and he will show us the way.

Dear Jesus, thank you for the many blessings in my life. Please bring them to mind each time I start to complain today. Help me to have an attitude of gratefulness and stop bitterness before it starts. Amen.