The other day it seemed that everything I attempted to do wasn’t happening. I was trimming our bushes and trees and I couldn’t even hit the trailer with the trimmings that I was hauling away. I tried to start my gas trimmer and I pulled the rope at least 30 times before I realized that I still had the kill switch on. It was over 90 degrees and I had forgotten to bring my gloves out with me. I was out of breath and could feel a blister wanting to form on my hand from pulling the rope time and again.

Earlier that same day I made three trips to Home Depot before I had finished the simple job of replacing a lock-set on the back door of Trends. The workers at Home Depot were laughing and joking with me because within an hour or so I had made so many trips. These are just little things that really do not matter but most would say they were having a bad day.

What is a bad day? “Bad day” is a very subjective term because the degree of trouble that we face is perceived differently by different people. When I was a young man I was a contractor and when I made a mistake laying out a wall I would get mad. Now I would not even give it a second thought; I would just fix it.

That attitude is a result of growing older, having more life experiences, but most of all by realizing that everything in life is not all about me. We can have a great deal of stress over things we are forced to deal with, or we can develop a different perspective. Things can be so much easier when we realize that life will not revolve around us. I have also experienced that stress wears me out more than pulling a rope to start a trimmer. Instead of approaching everything in life as to how it affects me, I just need to think of the things that others are going through and be compassionate toward them.

When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was he replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22: 37-40)

Oh, by the way; that evening, on the day when it seemed that everything was going wrong, some of my children, grandchildren, and one great grandchild showed up with pizza.

These are the things we learn at the Gathering Place every Sunday morning at 10:30 and Wednesday evening at 7. Come and join in.