The best/worst day …

Our six-year old grandson is dramatic to say the least. When he is FOR something he is 100% on board and doesn’t hesitate to let everyone know about it. On a good day when everything does go his way he’ll throw his fist in the air in the sign of victory and shout, “this is the best day ever!” On the other hand when he is NOT getting his way he drops his head, pouts a little and proclaims, “this is the worst ever”. One of the reasons it sounds so dramatic is the way he says “ever” … It comes out more like EVAH! There’s that Yankee influence again!

It happens to all of us even if we don’t quite verbalize our feelings so succinctly or dramatically. So what do we do on those good and bad days? On a really good day, week, month or even year, we appear happy and upbeat to all those around and want to share our stories, successes, good fortune with everyone we meet. We share enthusiasm with others and nothing seems to bother us … We are immune to sadness because we’re living in the clouds far, far away from the world and its problems.

On the other hand we also have bad days, weeks, months and unfortunately even years and the way we handle these are also critical to our witness as friends, family and especially as Christians. We’ve all probably heard someone ask why God allows bad things to happen to good people. As a young person facing the terminal illness of a loved one, I asked the same question. I’ll never forget the response offered to me at that time, “sometimes God allows things to happen to Christians so they can be a witness to those who do not know Him.” I have remembered that many times over the last forty years along with a multitude of other experiences.

Ten years ago I survived a stroke – but not just any stroke – one that should have destroyed one of my major organs, making it impossible to live productively, to be handicapped or debilitated for the rest of my life at the least. The first thing I did as I lay in ICU, tubes everywhere and non-verbal was to look UP. I needed to give Him my attention – my FULL attention and I did just that because He definitely had me. Do I believe He caused it – NO! But I do believe He allowed my stroke and what has happened in my life over the last ten years to bring glory to His name.

When I was a teenager, I guess I could have been called liberal by today’s terms. I was always for the underdog; I’d argue with anyone for the sake of proving a point; and if necessary I wouldn’t hesitate to fight for what I believed it. Since that time, I learned, albeit the hard way sometimes, that patience really is a virtue and that silence IS golden. Oh, I still get mad but instead of spouting off words I cannot retrieve once spoken, I talk to God … I know He’s not going to tell anyone and no one will get hurt by them. Before I retired, I had a pact with a good friend, a co-worker – if either of us wanted to tell somebody off, we’d write a letter, lock it in our desk overnight, let the other read it the next day and then tear it up! So I might spout allegations of injustice over things that hurt my loved ones but I try to hold my tongue. No, it’s not always possible but with the help of a good husband and other family members, I am about 98% successful!