Are you an Eeyore or a Tigger?

. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Do you remember the children's stories "Winnie the Pooh"?  There were two characters in those stories named Eeyore and Tigger.

 Eeyore was Pooh's pessimistic, slow-talking and often sarcastic donkey friend who has trouble keeping his tail attached to his bottom.  Tigger was Pooh's exuberant, energetic, cheerful friend. He loves to bounce, even bouncing on his tail. 

Everyone who knows me knows I love little brown bears, in fact, I have a collection of them.  So naturally, Winnie the Pooh has to be a favorite.  "House at Pooh Corner" is a song I love to sing to my grandchildren and they have heard it so much now, they can sing along.  They are especially vocal at the part, "Winnie the Pooh doesn't know what to do, has a honey jar stuck on his nose."

So the contrast between Eeyore and Tigger jumped in my mind the other day when I heard these verses:

"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;  Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:" (Colossians 1:11,12).

Many times as Christians we are more like Eeyore in our Christian walk than we are like Tigger.  Sometimes we may be patient and longsuffering, as the Apostle Paul speaks of in these verses, but we don't have the "with joyfulness; giving thanks. . ."  We seem to concentrate on the "suffering" part of longsuffering.  We don't seem to be strengthened with might "according to His glorious power" at all.

Other times we are like Tigger, we are full of joy and cheerfulness, quickly giving thanks to our Father who has made us "to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."  That joyfulness and thanksgiving shows in our every step, even in our countenance.

Let us remember as we walk our Christian life that others are often led and guided by our attitudes, our actions and our choices. May we always shine forth that strength that comes not from us, but may His strength be "made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9) that His glorious power may be manifest to all and His Light may shine forth to our world through us.



For those who love Winne the Pooh, here is a video I found of pictures from Pooh books set to the music of Loggins & Messina's "House on Pooh Corner."