So sometimes stuff happens that you really would rather didn't happen to you.
I have experience of two things like this in the last week and I am interested in my reaction to each one. Perhaps the teaching on the Fruit of the Spirit that I've been doing with the Women's Group at church is beginning to sink into my spirit and I am at last learning!
How do we act or react to negative situations? Do we have ourselves a little pity party or do we see how fortunate we actually are, even in the midst of difficulties? Is our glass always half full or half empty?
Last Thursday we had the strange phenomena of frozen rain. It was raining but the rain landed as sheer ice, glass-like ice and it was treacherous largely because it was so unexpected. It was raining and the ground looked wet, not icy!
So when I heard the noise of the dustbin men coming and I realised that we had not 'presented' our bin for collection I popped on my plastic Crocs and shot out of the door. And then shot up in the air and landed very heavily at the bottom of the six stone steps that were covered in the aforementioned glass-like ice!
I was in shock.
I couldn't move at first and when I tried to get up I just slid on the ice. I managed to get onto my knees and retrieve my shoe which had shot off and under the neighbour's car. I also managed to hobble over to the bin and 'present' it for emptying. I managed to get up the steps on all fours and into the house and then I managed to slump onto the sofa.
Then the pain began! I noticed I was bleeding on my left arm and I realised that I had hit in three places and the place that took the greatest impact was my bottom! Then my side above the waist, then my left arm. I had also banged my head but this was not significant as my bigger, more padded derriere had received the biggest bang!
So I sat and waited for Duncan to come home. When he did we assessed my bruising that was beginning to come out and realised how lucky I was! Yes I was very lucky. I didn't break my ankle, elbow or back and ended up with very painful bruising but no lasting damage. It could have been so much worse. A week of largely sleepless nights as it was painful to breathe when I lay down was the biggest problem - and spectacular bruising! Spectacular!
My glass very definitely half full there!
Second occasion - we set off on Monday to a cottage in the Dales about an hour's drive away, for a five day break. We were really looking forward to it and sped along happily until we had almost got to Skipton. Then we were overtaken by a van who pulled along side us and the driver wound down his window to shout at us. We wound down our window...
'You've got smoke pouring out of your back wheel, mate!!!'
'Oh....thanks!'
Fortunately we were just approaching a roundabout where there was a petrol station/
Co-op shop so we pulled in and examined the damage. Oh yes, there was a lot of smoke and the wheel was very hot and the smell......
We phoned the AA and about an hour and a half later the nicest AA man turned up and had the wheel off in no time. The hand brake cable had stuck 'on' and was causing the brakes to seize. He sorted this and checked the other wheel and we were on our way again and arrived late but in one piece.
It could have been so much worse. The man could have ignored the smoke and we could have driven on until the tyre burst into flames. We could have been in the middle of nowhere. It could have been minus temperatures as it had been the previous days. It could have been a more serious problem and we would have had to return home. Instead of which we were mildly inconvenienced and met a really nice man from the AA who, coincidentally, gave us some good advice about what cars to buy/avoid!
Glass half full again!
I remember the times when I would not have reacted to such incidents with such calm. I would have gone through the: 'Why me?' or 'Why do these things always have to happen to us?'
Instead of which our blood pressure remained steady and we got on with things and counted our blessings.
It's all about perspective, how you look at things.
I think the studies on the Fruit of the Spirit have helped!
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