My Attitude Adjustment

As I sit down to write this blog, my mind is overwhelmed by the times we have seen God's Presence working in people's lives. I think of all the times He must have been there, but we were not aware. I think of all the whys and why nots, in our lives, and how God plays a part in all of them. The deciding factors, of course, are our choices. He will lead, guide and nudge me and sometimes He gives me a push, just to keep me on track.

I remember once, not wanting to go on visitation with my husband, an incident I really am not proud to share with you. He was a deacon in our church and the deacons rotated for Sunday afternoon visitation. We had four children at home and Sunday mornings were usually hectic, feeding and dressing the children, making sure we were not late for Sunday School. By the time we were home and finished with lunch, I was usually exhausted. But he insisted that I go on visitation with him, since it was a mother with three children that had been at church that morning. Her husband was in the navy and was on deployment at sea. 

Complaining and whining, but still dressed in my Sunday dress and shoes, I tagged along. My attitude was not one that God was happy with, I am sure...and I know my husband was not

happy with me. 

When we arrived at the small trailer, at the back of the trailer park, I still was not feeling excited, much less happy, about going in to meet this lady. 

It had started to drizzle rain....more whining."I don't want to go into someones house and track in with wet shoes," I said, trying to make a good sounding excuse. My husband insisted we go to the door and see if she was home. 

Knocking on the door, we heard the chatter of little girls inside the house. As the door opened, a very young mother was standing there looking pleasantly surprised. She welcomed us into her meek home. We sat at the small kitchen table, where the young children were drawing and coloring. 

The mother shared with us that their family was in another state and her husband's military service had brought them to our town, Virginia Beach. Since he had been deployed, she had meet only a few neighbors, none that went to church. She had been raised in church and said she knew she would be welcomed in God's house that morning, but had never expected anyone to come and visit her so quickly. She was so grateful that someone cared enough to come and see them. 

She wanted us to stay and visit as long as possible, but having others to visit, we needed to be on our way. She hugged us, with tears in her eyes, and said, "I am so thankful God sent you all today. He heard my prayers!" 

The rain had started to come down pretty hard, so she closed the door. The wooden deck porch had gotten pretty wet and slick. As I started down the wooden steps, I slid down, landing on my knees on the grass below. As my husband passed by, he said, "Yep, God smacked you in the head for that one!" 

Sometimes I hate to admit he was right, but I guess this was one of those times that I needed an attitude adjustment. I did not literally 'see' God that day, but felt Him discipline me in my heart and physically too if you ask my husband! 

I have tried to learn to accept things as they are in my life. This is not always easy, because I want to fix things. When I slow down enough to allow God to show up, not complain about what is going on, let life unfold according to His plan, things go much smoother. These are the times that I have found I have a much better attitude. There should not be any 'whys or why nots,' because the answers are grounded in faith. 

Paul says in Romans 7:15 "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." It is a continual battle to trust God in all things, because we live in the flesh. But just one hour at a time, day by day, He will see us through the battles.

Blessings,
gs