Yesterday I made a  major purchase from a company I have done business with a few times.  As the installation was taking place I struck up a conversation with the two young workers. They were pleasant, with a good sense of humor and I immediately liked them.  I asked them questions about their lives and background.  Both agreed that their lives had many ups and a lot of downs.  In the course of the conversation, they discovered I was a preacher.  Both guys told me they were new Christians and were trying to serve the Lord and walk with Him.  Throughout our conversation, they told me of the many challenges they face and before they finished the job, I prayed with them.  Before they completed the job and were on their way, I promised I would continue to pray for things to work out for them. They ran another test and everything worked fine.  We said our goodbyes and they were off to their next appointment.

It is now 9:45 PM and Susanne says, do you hear that noise?  What noise, I said? I got out of my chair and searched for the “strange” noise, was it the coffee pot, the dishwasher, or the washer or dryer?  On my investigative trip, I discovered it was none of these and then I opened the garage door!  The new apparatus that had just been put in this afternoon was shooting water all over the garage.  There was at least one inch of water already rising on the garage floor.  The water was shooting into the wall and doing some damage.  I rushed outside and turned the water off.  One problem, the new apparatus had not gotten the message.  I searched frantically in the dark and finally found another cut-off valve. I turned it and the water ceased flowing.  The water had been filling up the garage for about 20-30 minutes.  We opened the garage door and water with the force of a water slide came rushing out of our garage.  I called the plumbing company and talked to their after hours receptionist. She politely told me she would get someone out to help me.  Bailing water and trying to rearrange things in the garage and getting towels and mops etc, let us just say I did not feel like I wanted to share my testimony of God’s grace and mercy.  Finally, I received a call and one of the plumbers said they would be there soon.

Now here is my dilemma, the two guys coming to help me at 11:00 PM were the same two guys I had been witnessing two earlier in the day. I was hot, tired, angry and not to mention wet.  Susanne left me and went inside.  I stopped what I was doing and prayed.  “Lord help get my emotions under control, help me to see your Hand in all of this.”   I began to calm down and felt the help of the Lord.  The two guys showed up and apologized.  I told them I knew no one wanted this to happen, and mechanical things fail. They were here to make things right.  They are coming back today to fix the apparatus, fix the drywall and paint the garage.

What I learned through this episode:

  • Emotions can take over, we must be on guard.
  • Most things are not as bad as they seem initially.
  • Things break.
  • You have to be a witness when things are going well.
  • You have to be a witness when things are not going well.
  • People still matter more than things.
  • Most of our problems are fixable.
  • Getting mad does not solve problems.
  • If you pray with someone in the morning, you better love them when the pipes break in the evening!
  • Leaders don’t place blame, they take responsibility.  This is what I shared with my two new best friends.  Let’s not blame, let’s fix.
  • I believe I am going to receive a severe discount the next time I use this business, just sayin……..

 

I am not by nature nice, I am asking Jesus to help me daily be nicer.  Because last night with the help of the Lord, and I mean the help of the Lord, I discovered the power of nice.  The power comes from the Lord!

 

 

2 Thoughts to “Disaster and Your Attitude”

  1. Okay, I think you are very nice!! Great post!

Leave a Reply to LisaCancel reply