Monday this week was a tough day for me. I don’t know why, but I was struggling “big time” with my attitude about life in general. I don’t have many days like that, which I’m very thankful for, but on Monday, I couldn’t get out of the rut I felt I was in.
Bill, bless his heart, listened to me and just hugged me…which is what I needed. He did what he could to help, and I’m very thankful. I’m sure he didn’t really know what to do with me and my attitude. 🙂 But what he did, helped.
After he went to bed after working all night, I picked up a study guide of Max Lucado’s of the Book of James, and what I read has stuck in my head ever since…
“When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. It it ‘sings,’ it’s ready. If it ‘thuds,’ it’s placed back in the oven. The character of a person is also checked by thumping.
Been thumped lately?
Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teacher. Grumpy moms. Burnt meals. Flat tires. ‘You’ve got to be kidding’ deadlines. Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. Flat-footed. They aren’t big enough to be crises, but if you get enough of them, watch out! Traffic jams. Long lines. Empty mailboxes. Dirty clothes on the floor…Thump. Thump. Thump. How do I respond? Do I sing? Or do I thud? Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart a man speaks (Luke 6:45). There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart. The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics, but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to-day living.” (From Shaped by God by Max Lucado)
(Gulp) I guess I was being thumped, and I certainly wasn’t singing on Monday. It’s been a better week, attitude-wise, ever since. 🙂
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