Half-Empty or Half-Full?

By Grace Chung

Last Friday, during chapel, we watched a video created by the Leadership Development class about a cup filled with water. The controversy surrounding the cup was whether the cup was half-full or half-empty. An optimistic person would see the cup as half empty, and a pessimistic person would view the cup as half-full. 

After the video, Pastor Bob began narrating the unlucky events that happened to him and his wife during their honeymoon in Venezuela to illustrate the value of staying optimistic. When the couple arrived in Venezuela, their luggage did not arrive on time, so they wore their thick Canadian clothes under the scorching heat. Moreover, due to the luggage arriving late, they had no credit card and had to survive with the bit of traveler's check they had for four days. Despite these unlucky events that could have ruined their entire honeymoon trip, they remained hopeful and trusted God. Although the couple’s issues were not resolved immediately, their optimism and positive attitude inspired other travelers who witnessed their unfortunate circumstances. For instance, a lady who backslid from church approached them to talk about God again (the travelers knew the couple was Christians). 

Benjamin Hollon, a senior, commented, “Even if your optimism ends up being unfounded, there are good things that came out of it. It still allows you to show other people what you like and cares about. [It also shows that] you can stay positive through a lot of hardships, and I think that’s a very valuable thing to show to others.” 

Like Benjamin’s comment, staying optimistic does not always bring the desired outcome. We all have experienced our optimism crushing our hearts. High hopes crushed bring such pain that sometimes we choose to be pessimistic as a defense mechanism. However, while our hearts would ache from our hopes crushed, as Christians, persistently choosing to have a hopeful attitude could encourage others around us. We need to always keep in mind that seemingly terrible things that happen in our lives might be stimuli that strengthen and empower us to help others. It is written in Jeremiah 29:11 that “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (“Bible Verses…”). Even during the most challenging days, it is crucial to trust God and stay hopeful. 

When life throws you lemons, will you be a half-filled or half-empty kind of person?