It’s just one of those weeks. We’ve all had them. Where things just don’t work out, and it just happens to be the worst possible week for everything to go wrong. This week I had a busier schedule than most other weeks. It’s a month that I’m really tight on money. And of course, it’s the week my car chooses to break down. I had to notify all my jobs of my situation, block out a day to fix my car, shell out my month’s salary, etcetera, etcetera. This was in addition to things not going quite as planned at work.
Of course the automatic reaction is to hate the world, wish it would quickly pass, and develop a filthier mouth. You panic, get frustrated, get stressed, get angry. But Jesus has said something really significant for times like these – “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
In a way, it’s so much easier, and even comforting, to let worry and stress take over. But remembering that quote, I thought about the pointlessness of getting all worked up. In that same conversation, Jesus also said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Whatever problems that would arise later that week from this incident would’ve happened anyway, without regard to my attitude. Yet it takes proactive intention to just chill and flow with life.
Another thought also came up that helped: This is going to make a great story someday.
Thinking back on my life, the best stories weren’t when my day went exactly as expected. Those are boring stories. In fact, I don’t even remember those days. The best stories I tell involve embarrassments, broken arms, car accidents, missed airplanes, hospitals, vomiting, oxygen tanks, and numerous other mishaps. And they’re really good and funny stories.
Next time you encounter one of “those weeks,” roll with it. It could be the next funny story that scores you a hot date, nails that job interview, or just livens up the conversation. Sometimes life’s catastrophes simply make the best comedies.