Are you going to have an “Aww….man” or an “A-men” kind of
day? I had a really rough night last
night. My neuropathy was especially uncomfortable and painful, making it
difficult to sleep and I was up and down most of the night. When I did fall
asleep, I’d wake a little while later with nightmares that left me trembling.
Just one of those nights. I’m an early riser….somewhere around 3 am every
morning… and am almost always awake before the alarm goes off. Today, however,
the alarm woke me at 3:00. The sound of the alarm startled me out of another
bad dream. For most of my life, the sound of the alarm was greeted with an
“AWWW…..MAN”, I don’t want to get up…..but today, it was an “AAA-men, it’s
morning and that terrible dream has ended!”
I made my way into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee; when
I looked out the window, it was pouring rain.
If it were summer and I was planning on a parade or a ballgame, I would
have said, “AWWW….MAN, it’s raining), but today it was “AAA-men, it’s
raining!!!! After months and months of
snow, the rain was a welcome sight because it means possibly, just possibly
some of this snow will melt, and I may have a chance of seeing some bare ground
in my yard before the first of April.
A few minutes ago, I opened the vitamin C bottle and popped
one in my mouth. Immediately, it was an “AWW….MAN, Theresa….you just bit into a
non-chewable Vitamin C, instead of the chewable ones you thought you had. YUCK!
YUCK! YUCK.” The bitter taste in my
mouth was awful, but it quickly became an “AAA-MEN” moment because suddenly,
that incredible craving for the mint chocolate chip protein bar that was
tormenting my mind all morning disappeared in the midst of the bitter
aftertaste of citrus.
I then headed to the closet room to pick out a sweater for
work. I pulled a pretty magenta colored one off the shelf and noticed the
Salvation Army price tag on it (got it for $1.00, but I purchased it not for
me, but to sell on Ebay because it’s one of those Black White House Market
brands (I’ve never owned anything from them but saw the store in the mall so
thought it must be some kind of big deal) and thought I could convert my dollar
to several more. I pulled the price tag off and when I did, the entire brand
name label came off as well. “AWW….MAN….
I can’t see it on E-bay now!” So I put
it on, never, ever expecting it to fit because it is a much smaller size than I
have ever worn….and to my surprise, it fit….snugly, but fit….. So now, my
“AWW….MAN, I can’t sell it now, has become an “AAA-Men, I have a new brand-name
(I think) sweater!”
All of this and it’s not even 6 am yet. I think there is a lesson waiting for me
today!
We hear stories about people who encounter what at first
appears to be a roadblock, or a hassle, or a problem, but later find out that
it was a blessing in disguise. There were some whose lives were spared on 9-11
when they were late for work and were not in the World Trade Center when it
collapsed. We hear of others who missed a plane due to a delay in a connection,
only to be spared death when the plane went down. We miss a turn and end up taking the long way
around, later to find out there was a terrible accident on the route we take
every day. If you think about it,
you’ll likely come up with all sort of things like this in your own life.
In terms of my personal journey….what at first appeared like
a set-back, turned into a motivational factor when it inspired me to try
harder. When someone brought in donuts
to work….the “AWW…MAN, you can’t have a donut” uttered to me by my co-worker,
became an “AAA-MEN…. I could have one if I want, but at this moment, I’m strong
enough to say, I DON’T WANT ONE” reinforcing my determination to succeed. Likewise,
the “Theresa, you’re never going to lose all that weight by yourself” or the “I
don’t think you can do this….or that” turned into a challenge when I said to
myself, “REALLY, oh yeah….You just watch me!”
Today…. I encourage you to look at things differently.
Choose to turn those “AWW….MAN” things that happen to you around….into
“AAA-MEN, I’m so blessed” moments. It’s not going to be easy to be positive all
the time and in all things, but I’m guessing if you try really hard, you will
find many opportunities to turn an awful lot of annoyances, irritations,
struggles, issues, temptations…..you name it....from an “AWW…MAN, poor me” kind
of moment into an “AAA-MEN” kind of moment!
Make it a great day!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment