♫ Had a bad day ♫

In the words of the children’s book, “a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day”.  A few days ago I was having one.  Not because of any real significant bad event, but just one of those with a symphony of annoying moments that snowball into a climactic point where you want to have that all-out teenager-ish scream-fest.  The kind where you drop things, stub your toe, say the wrong thing, forget something you reminded yourself a million times not to walk out the door without, get to checkout at the grocery store in time to realize you can’t find your debit card... you know... that kind of day.  The kind where everything and everyone irritates you, and no one seems to understand.

That was my kind of day that day.  I honestly knew that nothing that was happening was really that bad in the big picture, but it was all just so frustrating that I wasn’t willing to put myself into perspective.  In those moments, it’s easy to convince ourselves that our attitude is justified, or at least avoid thinking about it.  It’s easy to chock it up to “having a bad day” and this is not who we usually are.

A very wise man (Rev. Rick Cochran) has used the analogy for years that when you squeeze a toothpaste tube toothpaste comes out (same for ketchup, etc.)- what we are comes out when we’re squeezed (metaphorical, for all you thinking of making a bowels joke).  As much as we consider our “bad days” and moments to be the exception for showing our character, they’re actually more telling than any other moment is.  Our character is not built through these times, it’s revealed.

One of the things that God is showing me is that instead of making excuses for our shortcomings through those times, we should evaluate the aspects of our personality that need changing.  When we see what went wrong with our reaction, it’s up to us whether we decide to work on it and do better next time, or try to justify our actions.  We have a tendency to compartmentalize our standards for ourselves according to certain people and situations, when really, God has set a standard for us that does not hinge on circumstance.  For some reason, it’s easy for me to remember that when I’m going through a BIG trial, but difficult with the little ones, like the day where every little thing is going wrong.  AND all the deep, soul-searching aside, life is so much better when we don’t let the little things ruin our days or change our attitude.  I’ve heard it said that life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% how we react.  Keeping a good attitude and not letting it get to you can take some re-training yourself, but it definitely leads to happier life!