Monday, June 3, 2013

Stinky or Sweet? You Choose!

 Sometimes my attitude just stinks! I mean, I have changed quite a few gag-worthy diapers in my five-and-a-half months as a parent, and I'm sure there will be MANY more to come (if what I hear is accurate, it will just get worse...oh joy) but I digress. My stinky attitude is far worse than any poopy diaper I may encounter. When I have a bad attitude, it tends to stink up the whole room. It doesn't just affect me, it affects my spouse, my kids, and even the innocent bystanders who happen to be waiting in line in front of me at Walmart or handing me my change at Starbucks.

Its like the pay-it-forward affect, only opposite. Instead of encouraging others to do good deeds and spread joy, I infect them with grumpiness and send them out to infect others around them. It is not exactly how I want to portray Jesus, because I'm pretty sure he didn't have that kind of attitude. And it is not how I want to portray myself either, because I think of myself as a fun-loving and positive person most of the time. But bad attitudes tend to override whatever good we think we are doing, and not only make others crinkle up their nose but lessen our ability to do the good we want to do.

I want my attitude to submit to me, not the other way around. So I have to make that choice, when I feel grumpiness sneaking up on me, to see the glass half-full and be thankful in all things. Because I find that when I drown my bad attitude with thankfulness it usually can't survive. I might have to keep doing this all day, but in the end the work is worth it because not only does my family and community win, but I win too. Because who wants to be covered in the stink of their own bad attitude all day? I, for one, would rather be sweetened by a thankful spirit.

3 comments:

  1. I was at work one night (worked nights then) and at the start of the shift they let me know the boss wanted to see me in the morning. I spent a couple of hours ruminating and fretting about what he wanted - it started to ruin my night.

    I didn't know what he wanted, or what the meeting was about.

    I finally noticed what I was doing - worrying about an outcome from something I had absolutely no knowledge of!

    I decided to "take a stand" and quit thinking about it - to put it out of my mind! The Bible tells us to "resist the devil, and he will flee from you" - this turned into my prayer - to resist the devil.

    I had a few minutes of freedom, then found myself right back at it again. When I noticed I'd slipped, I, again, "took a stand". After a few hours of back and forth thinking like this I finally got the hang of letting it go. I spent the rest of the night free from worrying about it.

    Turned out it was a big nothing - time for my measuring tools to be calibrated was all.

    Working towards a dream can take many forms and shapes... this was a small dream I embraced and succeded at. Thanks for the reminder! ;)

    Jim

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment! I love how dreams DO take many shapes and forms, and am so encouraged to keep "taking a stand" against that negativity...thank you! :)

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