Column: My horrible, no-good, really bad day (or so I thought)

Hey friends! Here's Friday's column. 

Sorry I'm late in posting it. Maybe I'll try harder this week. 

Key word...try (well, I guess 'maybe' could be also...)

P.S. I've heard some good feedback on my columns so far, so thanks! Remember to tell your friends and enemies and frenemies about this...I need some exposure! :)


(original publication date: Friday, September 26, 2014)
My horrible, no-good, really bad day (or so I thought)

I love traveling, especially when I travel to see my family. We had spent the weekend celebrating my baby nephew's third birthday, and while I'm typically tired after a traveling weekend, I was wore out and all I wanted to do was sleep.

The earache I had been battling over the weekend had grown worse--I was struggling to hear as if I was living with a ball of cotton inside (at some points, I was). I could live with that to an extent, but the pain was making me an unhappy camper.

I arrived at my desk and my computer was messed up. What happened? Everything was fine and all of a sudden, this? Typically I can figure out what's wrong and fix it, but I wasn't able to and I grew very frustrated.

Then, my to-do list just kept growing, bigger and bigger. How was I supposed to get all of this done? On top of the daily routine? There was just no way. I already struggle with time management, and this was going to make it worse.

*ziiiip* Record scratch. Were things really this bad? Or had I allowed myself to dwell in the negative? Yes, I had...for most of the day. So when Jesus brought it to my attention later that afternoon through some conviction, I looked back on my situation...these "pitfalls"...and looked at them with a brand new set of eyes.

The plus side? I was able to see my family. I know some people who live states away from their relatives and only visit each other once a year. Yes, there's FaceTime and Skype, but it's good to hang out in a living room crowded with the ones you love. And on the other token, I could have not awaken from my sleep. It's like the card I received from a new friend in college: "Things could be worse. You could be dead."

My ear hurt. I could barely hear. But some people live their lives in chronic pain, and that wasn't me. More so, some people live their lives void of sound--not knowing the sound of laughter or music. Things were only muffled to my ear, not silenced.

We've really become so reliant on technology, haven't we? It's great to know we've evolved from the typewriter and even stone tablets. And in an effort to step out of my prideful comfort zone, I had to ask for help to get my computer up and running again. God always has people in our lives to help us out, no matter how big or small a task.

And maybe I needed to work on time management, which ties into procrastination. I've failed at that since high school and let it get worse in college. My jobs ended up working themselves out, and after taking a look at them more closely, I was going to be able to get everything done.

You see, when we change our perspective on life--whether it's the great big world around us or we zero in to our own agendas, things aren't so bad. Somewhere out there, someone is dealing with something much greater than a messed up computer, like a job loss or financial struggle or death of a loved one.

It's up to us to realize that God has us going through different things, big or small, for a reason that will mature us and/or bring glory to His name. We might not be thankful for everything, but the Apostle Paul tells us to give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Try it out sometime, because like me, it might teach you something and change those self-professed dreary days into something more delightful.