Yesterday, I was going out for a run to release some of my pent-up anxiety, when I met my neighbor on the sidewalk. Katherine's a 91-year-old retired missionary. She had on a pale pink housecoat and a rosy bow in her soft, white hair. Even her lips were colored pink. A broom in hand, my neighbor was sweeping debris from our entrance and smiling at my arrival.

"God is so good to us," she gleamed as I greeted her.

"Yes, He is," I managed to respond, half convincing myself.

"His mercies are new every morning. How precious He is!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, He is precious," I replied, now wondering how she was so authentically joyful.

"I see Jesus in you," she said. "You look so pretty today, Judy. I know it's Jesus in you!"

I almost balked aloud, knowing how unlovely I felt on the grouchy inside as well as the stinky outside. Instead, I leaned in and gave her a tight hug, wondering if she needed my touch as much I needed hers. She even smelled comforting, like baby powder.

I trotted off, longing for her joy. Why am I so quick to grumble and grouch? Why do my needs for control and comfort rule my life? How can I be more like my joyful neighbor?

This clue from Philippians 4:6-9 in The Message helped me today:

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. . . , and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies."

Several years ago, I pulled my sweater out of the dryer. It looked like it was made to fit someone's poodle, or a 3-year-old at best. I was shocked, even though I had ignored the washing instructions that warned me not to dry it. I guess I thought I knew better than the manufacturer and threw it in the machine anyway.

Sometimes we treat the Bible—God's instructions for life—the same way. We don't read it often enough or choose to do something it defines as wrong. Then, like me, we are shocked when our sin backfires.

Joshua 1:8 says, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." If we ignore God's instructions for life, we should expect consequences we may not like.

I just did a load of laundry. I read all the labels and followed the washing directions. And I'm happy to report: None of my clothes shrunk.

Last winter, my 6-year-old and some friends fulfilled the prophecy, "Boys will be boys." Without thinking about the consequences, they took sticks and whacked all the grapefruit off our backyard tree.

In Florida, grapefruit sweeten beautifully through the winter. We watch throughout spring and summer as the pea-sized fruit grows into softball-sized treats.

But last January, the yard lay littered with the results of four boys' thoughtless actions, and the pleasure of going out in the mornings, picking the fruit and juicing it right away was lost. We'll have to wait a whole year to enjoy fresh juice again.

Our lives can be like that grapefruit tree. God grows gifts and abilities in us that, when nurtured and encouraged, grow into wonderful fruit that He can use for His glory. But sometimes people come along and whack that fruit right off our tree with thoughtless comments:

"I can draw better than that." WHACK!

"You're really not good enough to be in that play." WHACK!

"I'm a lot smarter than that guy is." WHACK!

James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (New International Version).

Those heavenly gifts can be nurtured by encouraging comments, or easily damaged by those who thoughtlessly make discouraging statements. Thankfully, our gifts and abilities will always grow under God's nurturing hand, though for a season all may seem hopelessly lost.

Will you be an encourager or a whacker?