(ThyBlackMan.c0m) Learning to expect the unexpected and keep your joy.
A couple of weeks ago when it snowed two inches and the Atlanta metro area closed down for four days, the cold snap caused a pipe to burst in our bedroom. I could go on about the ridiculousness of two inches of snow shutting things down for four days, but I’ll save that column for another day. I grew up in Colorado and Germany and spent many mornings waiting for the school bus in ten inches of snow, wearing four pairs of socks, five layers of clothes and a pair of moon boots, but I think I’m starting to sound like a Bill Cosby standup routine so let me get back to my point …
When we arrived home and my husband went into the bedroom, water was flowing through the heating vent and a crack in the ceiling. I ran for buckets. He ran to shut off the water. When I came back, I noticed the crack in the ceiling had split a little wider. Since the crack was right over the dresser, we grabbed either end of the dresser and slid it out of the room. No more than five seconds later, in what felt like slow motion, the
crack split open completely and water rushed through the ceiling, leaving a gaping hole and exposed pipes. What a mess!
The plumbers came out the same day. The job would have to wait as they fixed the long list of emergencies that popped up during the storm. I decided to look at the bright side. At least this didn’t happen over the bed. We could still sleep in here, right? We tried it that night. At 3 am, my husband was awakened by a drip of water that landed on his forehead. So much for that plan. It’s been two weeks. Every piece of bedroom furniture is piled outside of the bedroom. The floor is being replaced, the ceiling restored, the walls painted – and we have relocated to the guest room. A month into our marriage, we’d gotten the room exactly as we wanted it, and now, well, stuff is a mess.
I’ll be honest. It started to affect my attitude. “I just want to feel settled!” “I worked so hard to get everything organized and now it’s chaos!” Then, it hit me: “You can complain or you can find the gift in this. Either way, the process is going to take a while. Your choice.”
I don’t know what’s inconveniencing you right now, but perhaps this message is for you: Stop taking the big things for granted, and letting the little things get under your skin. Whether it’s car trouble, your children acting up, or a project at work that someone just messed up, take a deep breath and put it into perspective. When I did, I had to admit some pretty great facts: Nothing really valuable was damaged, we have a warm home to live in, a spare room to sleep in, we were not out of town when it happened, and it’s a temporary inconvenience.
And the gift in all this? Well, now I get to redesign the room with the colors I want. We’ll love it more than before. Sometimes, you don’t just get the chance to bounce back from your setback – you get the chance to bounce back better than you were before. But first, you must put your setback into perspective and look for the inconvenient gift in it all.
My challenge to you this week:
Expect the unexpected. Don’t give it the power to throw you completely off course. That’s resilience, and it is the only way to be happy.
