By Alyson Porter

There was a time in my life when everything looked very, very different than it does now. I was struggling mentally, emotionally, financially—and everywhere in between. I felt beaten down, broken, and worst of all—completely alone. My husband was gone 14–16 hours a day working on his Ph.D., and I was left with four little kids and multiple businesses to try and run. I was failing miserably. I couldn’t hold it all together. I would cry myself to sleep at night and cry during the day while trying to work, make the kids’ lunch, or do the laundry.

All I could see were dirty dishes, socks on the floor, piles of papers, and half-eaten sandwiches. I saw all the unread emails, unanswered phone calls, and stacks of bills.

One day, when I was really low, I did what I often did during those times: I hid in my closet. I was praying, pouring my heart out to God, asking Him why He had left us and when it would get better. As I prayed, a thought came into my mind: Be still, and know that I am God.

I took a breath. I wiped my tears. I grabbed my journal and started writing down everything I was grateful for—my warm house, my beautiful children (who forgave me time and time again), dishes to eat on, socks for my son to wear, bread to eat, a pillow to lay my head on.

That was all I had the strength to write. I closed my journal, went downstairs to where my kids were, and plopped down on the couch. They circled in around me, hugging me tightly.

Then my five-year-old daughter, Cici, said, "You know what mom? You are the BEST MOM EVER! I love how you sing me a song before I go to sleep. Can you do that again tonight? PLEASE?"

I almost lost it. My bottom lip quivered. "Yes, sweetie."

Then my ten-year-old daughter, Kyrah, jumped up and said, "Hey mom, how about I make dinner tonight! It'll be fun! I can make mac n cheese :)"

I told her thank you so much, trying not to cry again.

In that moment, I remembered God's Law of Polarity: everything has an opposite. A bad situation is equally good. Which means that the more you look for the good, the more good will find its way to you. Because I spent just a few minutes writing down what was good in my life, more good came to me—because that’s what I was focused on!

When I focused on dirty dishes, piles of bills, and everything that was wrong, I just kept finding more of it. But when I shifted my thinking, I started to draw in more good—like my child letting me know she loved my singing voice, and another offering to cook dinner.

The more you look for the good in what seems like a bad situation, the more good you will find. So focus on the good—and more good will come to you!

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