May
26
Bitter or Better?
Filed Under Life
It has been an interesting spring here in Ohio, especially this past week, with the weather. With continuous and constant rains, my office flooded numerous times. It got so bad, we had to move to higher ground…another location. I said I was fine with it, as long as it was temporary, as I love my location where I work.
Then this week, two nights we’ve had some serious storms (quite interesting how Tuesday was passed over so I could play softball!) Last night it came right through Xenia. Baseball sized hail and no power. Still no power when I woke up this morning.
I got to thinking about the olden days…before power was a commonality. Before you could flip on a switch and you could see, or you could open your refrigerator and not worry if the food in there was going to be spoiled by nightfall. They didn’t worry about such things, yet again, they had completely different lives.
They didn’t plan a trip for 11 to Europe. They didn’t need to buy plane tickets or worry about where the money to pay for them was going to come from. So coming into the office today, I knew I had some things I needed to get done. But the power has been hit or miss. Luckily I brought Weedel in (my lil laptop…yes I named it! It’s short for wee dell)
The other day I was preparing for some teachings I’m doing this summer and one of the lessons is titled “Hurtin’ for Certain.” The essence of the lesson is that crap is going to happen. It’s as guaranteed as taxes and death. But it’s our choice of how we’re going to deal with it – are we going to be bitter or are we going to be better?
Just as competitions are a test of our training, just as exams are a test of our studies, tests and trials are a test of our character and faith. How are we going to react to them? What are we going to do when they inevitably hit? Who are we going to trust? Who or what are we going to rely on?
A reminder I’ve been giving myself and I tell my athletes raising support…focus on what you can do, not on what you cannot do. I am choosing to trust God. I am choosing to be better.