Besides All the Bad Stuff .... It's Been a Really Good Day!

I am not a huge fan of bad days. I'm really not a fan of any day that makes me feel like jumping out of a window, but they do happen. I am teaching myself this year (or God's teaching me) how to recover from bad things that happen. One day this year I was running late to class, and I left the apartment building and it was pouring rain. I went back inside to find my umbrella...which was in my car. So I left the apartment again. Well, I decided to take the short way and cut through the grass and my heels got stuck in the mud, ripping off my shoe and covering my shoe, foot, and nice pants in mud. I decided to keep walking . . . I was late to class and a little mud never hurt anyone. I got close to my car, maybe 10 feet or so away, and I reached into my purse for my keys. They were not there. When I returned to my apartment I looked at the clock and decided it was not worth it. By the time I got to class, I would be so late I would already be marked absent anyway. I always feel guilty when I don't go to class but looking back, I am so glad I did not go. I needed that time to recover and refocus my mind. I know that if I had gone to class, I would not have been thinking straight, and I would have been stuck in a bad mood, bad day. Plus I would have been tracking mud all over campus.

Then again recently, I woke up about 5 minutes late to get ready for band rehearsal (can you blame me . . . rehearsal at 9 AM on a Saturday?) and so I was only a little bit behind. I thought I would make up that time in driving on the road. So while I was backing up, I looked behind me and decided I had more room to back up. Turns out . . . I did not. I ran into a light post. Not a regular one, the kind with the huge cement base. Luckily, my car was only scratched (seriously, it's hardly noticeable, it just freaked me out mostly), but it totally threw off my mindset for this morning. That and marching for an hour in 40 degree weather at 9 AM (but band is still awesome). When I came back to my apartment after practice I was ready to knock my head through the wall I was so irritated with myself. However, when I sat down a few minutes ago, I remembered all the good stuff that has happened already this morning: I didn't mess up during practice (besides playing a couple wrong notes because my fingers were so numb I couldn't feel my keys), I talked to someone I was looking forward to talking to, I got to joke around with my friends, and I was able to come back to a warm apartment.

I will admit I become pessimistic at times, but God is working with me on that. Today alone He has helped me to realize that it's not about the bad stuff. They're just minor trials that everyone must go through every once in a while. I don't believe they're God's punishment for me being a stupid kid. My running into a light post was just me being a stupid kid and punishing myself. I do believe that the Devil can use the bad things that happen to us and make them worse than they really are, and he can mess with our minds because of them too. We have to realize that not every day will be perfect. Bad things just happen (to good people). How will these things affect you? How will you LET these things affect you? God is waiting for your response. Will it be a positive or a negative one? Don't let your day be ruined because of a few bad things that happened. You will miss out on so much more.

When we let the bad things control us and we take on a negative mindset, we miss the good things. I almost forgot how lucky I am to even be able to come home to a warm apartment. Yes, I was shivering in 40 degree weather, but what about those who sleep outside when it's even colder? I am a very lucky person! Yes I scratched my car, but it will be an easy fix. Yes, I missed a class because of strange circumstances, but it was only one class and I didn't miss much. At least I have a car and I have the opportunity to attend a great school. If we didn't have the bad stuff, we wouldn't appreciate the good stuff. Crap happens, people, but we don't have to make it the worst day of our lives. We can refocus our mind and be determined to have a great rest of the day. Say a little prayer for strength, and tell the Devil to stuff it. I know that's what I'm going to do!




"If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!"
-Proverbs 24:10

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
-Philippians 4:13

"When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other."
-Ecclesiastes 7:14