Eternal Optimist

THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST

Winnie was the pain of my life.

For her, every silver lining had a dark cloud hovering over it.

No matter what I suggested, she would only ever see the downside.

So, when I suggested that it might be more convenient for those with young families if we changed the Parish Eucharist from 9 am to 9.30am, she countered the suggestion by saying that parents were not really interested in their children's Christian formation and therefore it would not work,

And when I suggested that we should organise a big Christmas dinner and dance, she countered the suggestion by saying it would mean the same few people doing all the work as usual.

And again, when I suggested that the parish might have a Quiet Day or Parish Retreat to enable parishioners to focus upon their spiritual life, she countered the suggestion by saying there were too few people, like herself, who were sufficiently committed.

And so it went on for five and a half years. A drip, drip, drip, of doom and despondency. No matter what was suggested, either by myself or by other people, she could always be relied upon to put a dampener on all discussion.

For her, the church was always half empty, it was never half full.

She was the eternal pessimist.

I often use to think what would Jesus have made of her? He was the eternal optimist.

When confronted with a problem, he always looked at the resources that were available, And somehow, in his hands, those resources always proved adequate.

Take for instance the story of the feeding of the four thousand.

Mindful that the crowd of people had been with him for three days, and obviously hearing their empty stomachs beginning to rumble, what did he do?

He asked His disciples how much food they had. They said seven loaves. Yet, this meagre resource, when placed into the hands of Jesus, proved adequate in feeding the crowd.

In a similar way, the small stones and a catapult proved adequate for David in overcoming the giant, Goliath, because David put his trust in God.

I likewise put my trust in God, when he called me to be a priest. I had failed my eleven plus exam and therefore lacked the necessary qualifications to go to college.

However, when I left my secondary school, I went off for three years to a College of Further Education where I obtained nine O levels and two A levels.

Again, when my local education authority failed to provide a full grant, and my parents refused to make up the shortfall, I went and did agricultural work in the summer vacations and supply teaching at other times, trusting that with God's help, my meagre financial resources would prove adequate.

And when I arrived at University and found that I was the only non-Grammar or Public School pupil there, I studied like mad, convinced that God would not let me down. And he did not.

And God will not let you down, provided you use the resources available and put your trust in Him.

People may well say you are mad. They may well say that it is impossible. And they may well say it will not work. But try it, and I assure you, you will not be disappointed, no more than the crowds were disappointed upon the hill side, or David was disappointed in his conflict with Goliath.

Given the choice between pessimism or optimism, I would choose optimism every time. That is probably why I found Winnie such a pain.