Smacked In The Face-My Bad Behavior

I raced up the stairs. I was late. Nothing new for me. The colors were everywhere, purple, pink, orange, green; all tightly bound...ready to be released in a fury. A sigh escaped as I moved in tightly. More colors arrived, pushing into the crowded half circle; glares, stares and chatter filled the air. The door opened signaling the beginning of the battle. A stampede pushing in. I joined them. My aggressive personality always serving me well to get what I want, when I want it. I raced to the corner, unwinding the bind, laying down one mat and then another beside it. A loud "UHHH!" filled the air as I ignored it and rolled out.

Last week the same person who said, "UHHH!" had busted in on my spot and literally dropped her mat directly on top of mine. I was the one angry and making unpleasant noises. I was determined to "win" this week. My competitive nature and temperament kicking in. "Oh no you didn't!"

But as I laid on my mat, preparing for the always overcrowded class to begin, something began to tug at my heart, to whisper, "I have called you to be a servant, to show Christ-like love in any and ALL circumstances. There it was, the correcting of my bad behavior. Throughout the class I tried to justify it in my mind but couldn't shake the truth. As the class was winding down a CRAZY thought entered my mind, "Apologize to her." What? She did it to me last week! I won this week.

Again, "Apologize, you aren't showing Christ-like love." UGH...conviction.

Let's get one thing straight, I struggle not only with always wanting to win, but also apologizing. I'm a justifier (yes, more areas for Jesus to work on and repair.)

It was unshakeable and I knew what I had to do. The claps signaled the class was over. Time to show up and show how Jesus is working in my heart , mind and life. I got up and walked over to the lady who had set up directly behind me during the class. I leaned in...boom...boom...boom, my heart was pounding in my ears. Can she hear it too?

"I need to apologize to you for busting in on the spot you wanted. It wasn't very Christ-like of me. She smiled cordially and said, "That's okay." "No, really, I am sorry. I knew you wanted that spot and I pushed my way in. It was not Christ-like. Next week I'll make sure I'm behind you." She grinned, her aging eyes crinkling at the corners (yes, she was an older woman). Could it get any worse for me and my bad behavior? She graciously said, "This class is really crowded and I call myself a wall flower...I do like to be up against the side wall." Smiling I replied, "Well next week it's yours!" She giggled and thanked me. She stood up, rolled up her mat and stood there lingering a bit. I think she was a little surprised and caught off guard. I gathered my things and took the opportunity to introduce myself. She held out her hand and said, "I'm Mandy." "Nice to meet you Mandy...next week I won't be so aggressive," I replied. She laughed out loud as we said our goodbyes.

My son Elijah was there witnessing my behavior and my apology. I want to be a true example of who Jesus is; what He does when He enters the heart. I'm grateful for the reminders. The correction, for it's in those moments that the Teacher is teaching and the student is learning. 

Lord, today please help me to be a true reflection of You. Help me to overcome my weaknesses. I need You to continually remind me of where I'm falling short; renewing my brokenness with Your healing touch. I say these things in your Mighty and Holy Name, Jesus, Amen.

"You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."~John 13:13-17

I will bring the one–third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.”~Zechariah 13:9

Change Your Attitude

Sometimes you get so caught up in the everyday activities that you feel like your on auto pilot. I can't tell you the number of times I passed the street I'm supposed to turn on because I wasn't focusing. A million things running through my mind...work, basketball practice, meetings, doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, the list is endless. I think we all tend to go through life this way. No wonder we are all so stressed out. Our brains are on overload. By the time the weekend rolls around, we feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and defeated by all the things that was not accomplished on our endless lists! There is a solution...it all begins with your attitude.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut way all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.'

"I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breathe and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them. 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Remember to start each day with the right attitude. Look at what's right in your life. When problems arise, focus on the solution, not the problem. Remember...your lists are SELF-MADE. You've put all the pressure on yourself. If something doesn't get completed...there's always tomorrow, besides, look at all the things you did accomplish (ATTITUDE GOES A LONG WAY).

"But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food." Job 36:15,16