Some Days are Like That

By Liz Cowen Furman –

Ever have one of those days? I mean a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day (to quote one of my favorite children’s books titled Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Vorist)? Well, I did just a while back.

Up late in the morning, but by some miracle, we made it to the bus on time, only to discover the substitute driver came five minutes early. Wouldn’t you think he would notice no one was at any of the stops? I drove the boys up to school, teenagers grumbling every mile. The car was almost out of gas but I couldn’t make them late. I hate it when the car is out of gas. Think I’ll move to Australia.

After dropping them, I decided to go to the station with the touch free car wash so I could wash my hubby’s car for him. The last snow storm gunked it up! I got gas, paid for the car wash, then saw the closed sign. I popped in (still in my PJs) to ask why. He answered, “too cold.” I drove to the only other car wash in Conifer and scrounged for change to go with my $5 so I could pay two extra dollars. After all that, the machine wouldn’t take my $5 bill. Think I’ll move to Hawaii.

Enough was enough, I sat right down to my quiet time. I thanked God for helping me through the morning. I asked for protection, lifted up all on my list and I prayed for God to make me into a woman shining His light to everyone I meet, especially my family, and my awful mood lifted. I asked Him to erase my dark countenance.

I no sooner said amen when I remembered to fax a copy of the title to the bank for our refinance. Borrowing my neighbor’s fax machine (because mine just broke), the title somehow lodged in the machine. It took a good bit of coaxing and cajoling to remove it unharmed from the machine. Think I’ll move to Palisade.

My dark countenance returned with a vengeance when my middle son arrived with an attitude. No light from heaven, no sunny optimism spouting from my lips, no siree. How did I go from being determined to be like my best friend Jesus to all I meet, to a screaming meme in just a few short hours? I apologized to everyone as I was a brat to them all.

Then it hit me, I once had a sign in my 6th grade classroom that read “Attitude is Everything.” Oh, I know I will still have bad days but if I could cultivate an attitude of gratitude like Ephesians says. “In everything give thanks.” The key word in both sentences is everything. We are commanded to give thanks in success, in good times, in times of plenty and in not good times, in the hard stuff, in failure, loss and want. I desire to honor my Lord by being someone who looks at a car repair and is thankful she has a car; that deals with an attitudinal, ungrateful teen and is thankful he hasn’t been in a serious car accident like my friends son the same age. Every trial has something I can find to give thanks about. Besides, apart from a few horrific things in my life, most stuff I allow to cause my bad day is really an inconvenience, not a trial at all. And anyway, some days are like that even in Australia!