It Happens
I
urgently snap out of my paradise trance upon the realization that the familiar
tang of odor is dog poop I managed to physically step in. How could this be on my perfectly poised easy
Sunday morning? Isn’t that like life?
Everything is going great and, without any warning, you manage to step
into a pile of shit! I realize, in that
split second of utter grossness, I have a choice. I can choose to let this minor stinky
situation ruin this amazingly beautiful moment or I can choose to simply walk
over to the grass and wipe it off. And
that’s what I did.
I’m
reminded of the scene in Forrest Gump when the bumper sticker salesman runs
alongside Forrest and points out that he has just stepped into a pile of dog
poo. Forrest replies, “It happens.” The man says, “What, shi*t?” Forrest responds, “Sometimes.” The salesman is inspired to create the
popular “Sh*t Happens” bumper sticker.
“It” does happen, often when you least expect it. Life is peppered with unforeseeable events,
surprises, annoyances and stress filled piles of poo. It’s up to us to assign meaning to those
moments, give weight to the situation and decide how we’re going to react. There’s always going to be things we can’t
control but we can control how we react to those things. The choices we make will determine what kind
of day, and life, we’ll have. Dale
Earnhardt said, “You can’t let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones.”
I
feel that throughout this journey I’ve learned some pretty great coping
mechanisms for the ebb and flow of life, combating stress, controlling my
emotions and keeping my hand out of the literal cookie jar. But this week I realize, the closer I get to
goal, I still have a subtle underlying fear of my ability to keep the weight
off. You see, like most professional
“dieters,” I am highly proficient with my losing abilities but I’ve never been
successful in keeping it off. I know the
triggers of getting me off track before included “it” moments. This week I pray about it. “God, please show me the way. How am I going to be different this
time? What do I need to do? Please help me.”
Now,
I need to preface this next part by saying that, although I often cite Bible
passages, it’s clearly not because I have them memorized. I try to read the Bible and I seek out verses
that will help and inspire me on whatever I may face during the week. So, when I say that God placed a Bible verse
on my heart, I never know what that verse actually says until I look it
up. This week I was literally coming out
of the bathroom stall at work when I heard Ephesians 2:22. What?
What does that mean? What does it
say? I look it up. “Through Him you,
also, are being built in the Spirit together with others into a place where God
lives.” I found an incredible
interpretation that said, “God is transforming each one of you into the holy of holies, His dwelling place, through the power of the Holy Spirit living in
you!”
This
time is different. I am different. That’s what I take from this verse. I lost weight but I also gained spiritual
strength. I’m not the same person this
time around. There’s no room for excuses this time. Inky Johnson said, “At what point do we
become stronger than our excuses?” I
think it’s when we realize who we really are in Christ! Let me say that again – who we really
are. It’s taken me some time to really
get that. It’s
time to be stronger than your strongest excuse. If I get real about the past times I gained
the weight back it was because I let my excuses become stronger than me. I allowed myself to revert back to self-medicating
the “it” days with food and unhealthy habits.
This time I am stronger. This
time I am different. When those “it” moments happen, and we know
they will, I’m going to be prepared.
Don’t forget about the good.
There’s
always going to be bad days, it’s the roller coaster of life. We can’t forget that good things also happen
and they will happen again. If we focus
on the good things we’ll see more good in the world and in our lives, no matter
what we happen to step in.
Remember who you are.
Ephesians
2:22 is clear that we have the Holy Spirit living in each one of us. I am a child of God. Jesus is my brother. God is my father. I’ve got the Holy Spirit inside of me. I’m not alone in this struggle. I’m not alone with my fears. We are never alone.
Look for the lesson.
When
bad things happen there’s usually a lesson in there. I believe everything happens for a reason so
ask what the lesson is I’m to learn here.
Perhaps it’s to keep one eye on the sidewalk to watch for dog droppings
and perhaps it’s to believe in myself.
Life isn’t a perfect linear series of events that all makes sense. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Gilda Radner said, “I wanted a perfect
ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way,
that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning,
middle, and end. Life is about not
knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without
knowing what’s going to happen next.”
When
the doggie do-do is removed from my shoe in a nearby patch of grass, little
Oliver and I continue our walk. Van
Morrison sings into my ear now, “Days Like this.” It makes me smile again and we continue our walk. The lesson?
Don’t allow one bad moment today to shape the rest of your day or your
life. Life will give you lessons. What you learn and how you allow it to affect
you is what defines you. It’s always
your choice. You can choose to wipe “it”
off in the grass or you can choose to let the dirty shoe steal your joy. You can’t allow a little pile of poo rob you
of a perfect easy Sunday morning!
When it's not always raining there'll be days like this
When there's no one complaining there'll be days like this
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me there'll be days like this
When there's no one complaining there'll be days like this
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me there'll be days like this
Oh my mama told me
There'll be days like this
There'll be days like this
~ Van Morrison
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