When Something Bad Happens

As I begin this 4-part series today, I want to make sure you notice that the saying above is not, "IF bad things happen..." but, instead it is, "WHEN something bad happens...".

Friend, as bad as this may sound it is a fact of life that the longer you live you WILL experience something "bad" happening in your life. That's just part of being alive. Many of you have already experienced bad things happening in your life and, for some of you, maybe even too early in your life.

As I put this together there were many tornadoes that ripped through parts of our country last week that destroyed the lives of many people due to destruction and/or death. Storms come and go in our lives and it's not always the kind of storm that is defined by wind and rain.

As we go through this 4-part discussion we will ask ourselves if we will let these episodes in our lives DEFINE us, DESTROY us or STRENGTHEN us. For those of you that either have been or ARE going through bad times, what impact is it having on your life? Are you handling it - did you handle it - in a way that you wanted to? Hey, don't get me wrong - NO ONE wants anything bad to happen in their life, right? But, again, it is a fact that these things WILL come and we DO have a choice as to how we handle them.

Before we get into this whole discussion let me first of all say that I am NOT here to judge anyone on how they have handled or are handling a crisis in their lives. Too many people find it too easy to do just that - lay down "judgment" on something that they, themselves, either are not going through or have never gone through OR think everyone should handle the way that THEY handled it in their own situation.

We are all different! We all work through and handle things differently. This series is simply designed to be a means of encouragement to those that have been or are going through tough times due to "bad" things happening. It is also meant to be a way to encourage us all to PREPARE for these times before they arrive!

A football team (or any sports team) does not wait until the start of a game to prepare for that game. They begin their preparation MONTHS and MONTHS before that game is even scheduled to take place. The time for us to prepare ourselves for the "storms" that WILL come into our lives is NOT when the wind is trying to blow our door down!

The time to prepare is NOW. And, friend, if you've been there, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love you to share your story with me. I won't use any part of it unless you give me permission to do so, but you may just want to share with me, alone. I'd love to hear from you.

Remember, it's not IF but WHEN. Sure, it'd be great to avoid all things "bad" that may come along the way but, then again, we'd miss out on a lot of good as well.

Think about it and join me again tomorrow.

Until then, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Happy Regardless!

Happy Regardless!

Clouds. Rain. Storms.

Rainbows. Sunshine. Clear skies.

All of these are a part of daily and/or weekly events in our weather. And, we cannot have one without the other and, for most of us, we would not want it to be just "one way" all of the time!

Oh sure, when it's raining for several days in a row the idea of constant sunshine seems really pleasant, doesn't it? But then, when we have a drought and the sun just keeps burning down with no relief in sight we tend to wish, once again, for some of that rain!

That's just the way we are!

When it's bitter cold in the middle of winter we whine and complain about it being TOO cold and then, when it's in the middle of summer we whine and complain that it's TOO hot!

Hey, that's just life, isn't it?

The struggle that we all share when dealing with weather is to learn to be HAPPY REGARDLESS!

Sun or rain - deal with it and have a happy, positive attitude!

Take this example and magnify it ten times or more and you have the situation of us struggling to not base our happiness on people and/or events! Said in a different way - learning to be HAPPY REGARDLESS!

Happy regardless of what people do or say to us.

Happy regardless of who does or doesn't like us.

Happy regardless of whether or not we got that "perfect" job.

Happy regardless of whether or not we got that raise.

Happy regardless of the fact that our air conditioner just went out and it's 110 degrees outside.

Happy regardless of the "storms" that come our way.

Oh, I know that I didn't touch on some really serious struggles that come with the death of someone that we love or tragedy's that come due to accidents or destructive natural events. But please allow what might appear to be a "surface discussion" work it's way deep down into your inner being of hurt. It still applies although, once again, it's easier said than done.

From the Bible we read the apostle Paul describe his dealing with such struggles when he said something along this line: "Ive been through all kinds of things. Good things and a whole lot of bad things. (He even goes on to make a list of all of the bad stuff that has happened to him). But here is what I've learned...whether everything is going great or NOTHING is going even "good", I have learned to be content. Regardless."

Now, that's not an exact quote, but that's the heart of the message.

For us, this can only come when we develop the understanding that happiness - TRUE happiness - must come from within. When I say "true happiness" I'm talking about the kind of happiness that is not at the whim of other people or things. The kind of peace and happiness that comes REGARDLESS of what is going on around me.

THIS IS NOT EASY! But it IS possible! And, again, it is a process.

Why not work on this process beginning today?

Here's a way to begin - pay attention to your attitude and your moods as you go through the day.

Do you allow yourself to get easily "worked up" when something doesn't go the way you wish? If someone doesn't behave the way you think they should do you get angry and resentful toward that person?

What about something as simple as if your favorite television show is not on for some reason - honesty check your attitude at that time.

These are all indicators that we are allowing outside influences to "control" our mood and, yes, even our happiness.

If you're like me you don't like those examples because you can find them all day every day in your own life!

So, simply begin by PAYING ATTENTION and BEING AWARE.

When you find yourself getting these feelings of disappointment, discouragement, frustration and, yes, even anger, stop and think about what is going on. Take a deep breath and say to yourself that you will NOT allow this (whatever it is or whoever it is) to impact your attitude and your happiness in this way.

It's not worth it!

The more you pay attention the more you will find that this happens in your life. DO NOT BECOME DISCOURAGED at this discovery! You are not unusual in this way - many (if not all) of those around you struggle with the exact same thing!

But, the difference with you is this: you now know that it IS something that you can control and you now know HOW and WHAT you can do to begin to get this under control.

It's in your hands and YOU have the control in this area as well as many other areas in your life.

You can do it and you WILL do it IF you make a decision to begin today!

Do it. And AS you do it...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike