When Glenda and I were first married I was a building contractor. We had not been married for a year when I was asked to go to Florida and build some rental properties. It sounded like a great opportunity because, at that time in Ohio, we were experiencing a tough time in the building trades and Florida was booming.

I was very excited and anxious to get started. I made arrangements to do the work through a third party that I had done work for previously. I was supposed to start the buildings the first of September of that year. Our first child was due about that time but as things can happen, our first born was not here until Sept 22. I stayed here with Glenda until our new baby boy was a few days old then I went to Florida to start the buildings. They would then be joining me a few days later when Scott was old enough to make the trip.

When I got to Florida my friend, that had arranged the work for me, had also arranged for us to purchase a small but new home. I bought all new furniture, appliances, window dressing, and everything it took to decorate our new home. Glenda got there and we were so excited.

Time went by and I was at a point in the building process that I could bill the owner for the work that had been accomplished. Upon presenting the owner the bill, he said that the labor figure was totally out of line because the immigrant crew he had been using was less expensive and, although he had given me the work, he wasn’t going to pay me more than it would have cost him with the former crew. How quickly my excitement left me.

In retrospect I can see where this plan was destined to fail but my excitement was so great that those things were totally overlooked.

Since excitement is an emotion, can it affect us as other emotions; like anger or sadness? How are we able to have control of what we are feeling?

We discuss these and other everyday issues at the Gathering Place each Sunday morning at 10:30 and Wednesday evening at 7.

Pastor

John Pfeifer