Terrible Day

So last week I wrote a blog about the importance of words, and how I was determined to use mine the right way. 

The day it was published was a terrible day. 

No matter what I did or which way I turned, I was tempted to speak the wrong way. I was so provoked. I failed so miserably. So much so that at the end of the day my five year old headed out the door and said he didn’t want to live here anymore. 

It really was a terrible day.

I am so ashamed of how I reacted to my circumstances that day. I let my emotions rule me, and that typically never ends well. I apologized to everyone several times, but the harsh words I had spoken can never truly be taken back. They exist as sound waves that go on forever. 

I kept resolving to do better that day. And eventually I think I did. By the end of the night a felt like a slightly nicer person than I had been. Slightly. The day ended with a fervent prayer that I would do better the next day. And I think I did. 

Aren’t you thankful that life has many reset buttons? Every day, every hour, you can stop and say, “Wait a minute, this isn’t going so well. I’m going to push reset and try again.” I know this is true, because it works!

I didn’t have this mindset on my terrible day. If I had, it probably would have gotten better sooner than it did. Instead, I kept focusing on the things that were provoking me and then on how badly I had reacted to them. I seriously needed a slap in the face. Or just a mindset change. Some prayer time. And some cookie dough. Cookie dough can quickly change a bad day to a good one. ;-) 

When my tween is having a hard time, I like to quote Philippians 4:8 to her:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

Sometimes I need some of the medicine that I dish out to the kids. This verse is such a good verse to live by. If you are focusing on all these good things, you don’t have time or energy left in invest in the negative things. 

So here’s to pushing the rest button on our bad days and switching our mindset. Here’s to sticking to the excellent and praiseworthy when we speak.

How do you reset your bad days?

Blessings,

Lee