BAD MOODS WON'T LAST

Jesus, help me believe the Beatitudes when I'm in a bad mood! Amen.

"Be happy if you have to work hard to stay close to God," said Jesus. "God's kingdom, heaven, belongs to you. Don't worry if you're sad; God will comfort you. Be happy if you're humble and want to follow God; God will be close to you. Be happy if you forgive other people; God will forgive you. Be happy if you work for peace; you'll be called children of God! Even if people hurt you for believing in God, be happy, because you'll go to heaven."

Adults always say kids "live in the moment." That means you don't think much about next week -- more about what's happening today. Unfortunately, that also means you might feel like today's grumpy mood will never change for you.

This week's Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12) might reassure you. In it, Jesus is teaching some important lessons called the "Beatitudes." What He promises is that the good stuff that comes from God will last a lot longer than any bad stuff we go through in life.

To a lot of kids, today's bad mood seems like it will go on forever. Bad stuff also tends to stack up; if you're in a bad mood already and then you find out McDonald's ran out of the one Happy Meal toy you wanted, you're twice as miserable.

Jesus had another view. All the Beatitudes are about the same idea: When things seem bad -- when you feel like God doesn't care, when you struggle to forgive someone or when you're teased about what you believe in -- that's when God is closest to you.

Even better, Jesus pointed out that today's bad stuff won't last forever. Your bad mood might feel like it will never end, but if Jesus promised it would, He must know what He's talking about!

Someday, when you go to heaven, Jesus also promised that all the bad stuff in your life would seem like an old memory, all gone.

Trusting Jesus sounds like a good way to get through a bad mood!

(01/31/08)