Consider
it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect
result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
I
read a story about a manager of a restaurant in South Philly named Jerry. The writer shared this...
“He was always
in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him "how he was
doing", he would always reply, "If I were any better, I would be
twins!" Many of the waiters at his
restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him
around from restaurant to restaurant. The
reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude; He was a natural
motivator. If an employee was having a
bad day, Jerry was always there, telling the employee how to look on the
positive side of the situation.
Seeing this
style really made me curious. So, one day, I went up to Jerry and asked him,
"I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all the time. How do you
do it?"
Jerry
replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices
today, I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I always choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose
to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it. Every time
someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can
point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of
life."
"But
it's not always that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it
is," Jerry said, Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the
junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You
choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad
mood. It's your choice how you live your life."
Several years
later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do
in the restaurant business: he left the back door of his restaurant open one
morning and was robbed by three armed men. While trying to open the safe, his
hand, shaking from nervousness slipped off the combination. The robbers
panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the
hospital. After 8 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was
released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry
about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied,
"If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him
what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
"The
first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back
door," Jerry replied. "Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the
floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or choose to
die. I chose to live."
"Weren't
you scared?" I asked.
Jerry
continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to
be fine. But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the
expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In
their eyes, I read 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."
"What
did you do?" I asked.
"Well,
there was a big nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She
asked if I was allergic to anything."
'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited
for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter,
I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not
dead'."
Jerry lived thanks to the
skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day you have the
choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it. The
only thing that is truly yours --that no one can control or take from you -- is
your attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes
much easier.
Good words for a Monday morning.
Scripture to Claim:
Do
all things without grumbling or disputing;
Philippians 2:14
