This past Sunday, my message was about being the incredible freedom that comes from being thankful in the midst of our circumstances--regardless of what they are.
I worked all week preparing my message (as I usually do), & went into the weekend relieved that I didn't have any last-minute cramming to worry about (unfortunately, that happens sometimes, too). I was glad to enjoy Father's Day weekend with my family!
Then, on Friday, while I was mowing, one of the glass panes in our patio slider door spontaneously started shattering. And if you've ever seen that, it's CRAZY!
I Googled it & learned that it's not all that uncommon. I also learned that the tempered glass keeps the shattered window in place instead of millions of little pieces falling all over the place. Good idea!
...when it works!
I walked out the front door and into the front yard, relieved that the issue wasn't as bad as it could've been if the glass fell out.
As I came back inside & the front door closed behind me, I heard an unmistakable--and sickening--sound....
Let's just say the tempered glass did NOT stay in place! In fact, it made one of the biggest messes I've ever seen!
So, there I stood, looking out a 3-foot round hole in my slider & trying to figure out what the heck I was gonna do to fix it.
I tried plastic first. Bad idea: the AC just pushed it through the hole!
And made the hole even bigger.
About this time, I started getting so frustrated (angry) that cuss words started running through my mind. (I was in the Navy for 10 years, y'all, so I've got quite the cussin' vocabulary!) Then I started making up new ones!
And then it hit me.
"I'm living out the lesson for Sunday's message!"
Duh!
So, right then & there I decided that I was going to put into practice what I was gonna be preaching: I was gonna CHOOSE to be grateful. I didn't FEEL grateful, but I was gonna BE grateful anyhow.
The moment I did, my head started clearing, my blood pressure started dropping, and I started laughing. Not a belly laugh, but a little chuckle. Just for a moment.
In a matter of minutes, I'd put a plan together to temporarily fix the window, executed the plan, AND decided that it was time to replace the slider with those french doors that Jennifer's been wanting for so long.
Sunday's message may not have been for anybody else, but it certainly was for me!
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