Be A Pollyanna!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Are you a “pollyanna”? 

Hi I’m Christin Ditchfield and this is Take It To Heart! 

Today the word “pollyana” is often used as a derogatory term for someone who is naively optimistic, intentionally blind to unpleasant truths, or willfully, woefully out of touch with the harsh realities of life. But if you’ve ever read the original novel by Eleanor H. Porter or seen the Disney movie version featuring Hayley Mills, you know better.

Porter’s Pollyana is a little girl whose minister-father taught her from an early age to cultivate in her heart “an attitude of gratitude” – to choose to “give thanks in every circumstance.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Together, they played “the glad game,” in which they tried to help each other find something to be glad or grateful for, no matter what the situation. Pollyana’s father also taught her an important lesson he had learned the hard way: to always look for the good in others, rather than focus on their faults and flaws.

As the story unfolds, the young girl experiences more than her share of heartache. When her beloved parents die, she’s sent to live with a wealthy aunt – a cold and distant woman who dominates the social structure of an unhappy, unfriendly town. But Pollyana’s spirit will not be stifled or subdued. She looks for the good in everyone and everything – and finds it! Her enthusiasm is so contagious, it spreads to from one person to another.

Even her hard-hearted aunt can’t help but soften in response to Pollyana’s steadfast determination to rejoice and be glad. In the end, when Pollyana faces a loss that for once threatens to overwhelm even her resolutely cheerful spirit, the townspeople rally around her. One by one they share with her how she has made a difference in their lives. They repeat to her the very words she once said to them – words of love and friendship, faith and hope. Words that have come from a thankful heart, a happy heart.

What about you? Do you have a thankful heart? A happy heart? Do you look for the good in others and encourage them to do the same? Be a “pollyana” in someone else’s life today!

This broadcast was excerpted from A Way With Words: What Women Should Know About the Power They Possess by Christin Ditchfield, Crossway Books, 2010.