My laptop was stolen yesterday.
I'll spare you the all the details but suffice to say my brain is 40. And just when I thought that 40 was the new 30, I had a mental pause moment and walked off a plane leaving my computer in my seat.
Well, someone really needed a laptop because when I went back to get it- it was gone.
It was hard to give up the search and leave the airport without my little wordsmith friend I'd only had a month.
Did I mention the laptop was brand new? Yes. b.r.a.n.d. n.e.w.
Was I sad?
Yes.
Did I want to have a complete meltdown in the middle of the airport complete with tears and snot? Of course.
But I didn't.
I did everything I could reasonably do to get the laptop back and then had to make the choice to admit the situation was out of my control. And if I kept my mind parked on trying to fix something out of my control- it would make me act out of control. Which is no way to live the messages we've been learning from Philippians.
We've been asking God to give us the spirit of wisdom and discernment. We've lifted up our willingness to the Lord. We've learned to connect the words from the Bible to what we're facing each day. And we asked God to not just instruct us but to also interrupt us and our reactions with His truth.
And we're not doing all this just to check off Bible reading from our Christian checklists. We're doing all this to know Jesus more deeply and live out His message more authentically in our lives.
Which brings me to chapter 3 of Philippians. Many things from the chapter are wonderfully rich. But this one verse jumped out at me today in a way it never has before. This will be my verse for the day. Maybe the week. Shoot, maybe the rest of this year.
Philippians 3: 16, "Only let us live up to what we have already attained."
As I walked around that airport yesterday feeling frantic I realized something profound. I was the only one who could determine my reaction to this situation. This is an important lesson for a Jesus girl to learn.
Becoming more than a good Bible study girl means we must live up to what we've already attained. We must let the lessons from our study of the Bible truly make a difference in how we approach life.
The good. The bad. And the down right ugly circumstances of life. Especially the down right ugly. And a big key to this is realizing I'm equipped to be different.
Indeed, I couldn't control what was happening to me but because of Jesus in me, I could control how I reacted.
The rude gate agent could make me feel like a worm but he could not control my reaction.
The less than helpful lost and found agent could make me feel ignored but she could not control my reaction.
The person who took my laptop could make me feel violated but they couldn't control my reaction.
Though a lot about yesterday was out of my control, I had complete control over my reaction. Only I could determine that. So, I mentally steered my feelings instead of my feelings steering me.
And good came.
No, I didn't get my laptop back but I got something amazingly wonderful yesterday. I'll tell you more about this precious gift tomorrow. I can't wait. In the meantime, let's chat in the comments today.
Do you ever struggle with this? Do you ever feel like your reactions to things betray your best of intentions? Do you ever find yourself parking your mind on things out of your control and then reacting out of control?
Was there something else from Philippians 3 that jumped out at you? I can't wait to read what you have to say.
Until tomorrow...
I'll spare you the all the details but suffice to say my brain is 40. And just when I thought that 40 was the new 30, I had a mental pause moment and walked off a plane leaving my computer in my seat.
Well, someone really needed a laptop because when I went back to get it- it was gone.
It was hard to give up the search and leave the airport without my little wordsmith friend I'd only had a month.
Did I mention the laptop was brand new? Yes. b.r.a.n.d. n.e.w.
Was I sad?
Yes.
Did I want to have a complete meltdown in the middle of the airport complete with tears and snot? Of course.
But I didn't.
I did everything I could reasonably do to get the laptop back and then had to make the choice to admit the situation was out of my control. And if I kept my mind parked on trying to fix something out of my control- it would make me act out of control. Which is no way to live the messages we've been learning from Philippians.
We've been asking God to give us the spirit of wisdom and discernment. We've lifted up our willingness to the Lord. We've learned to connect the words from the Bible to what we're facing each day. And we asked God to not just instruct us but to also interrupt us and our reactions with His truth.
And we're not doing all this just to check off Bible reading from our Christian checklists. We're doing all this to know Jesus more deeply and live out His message more authentically in our lives.
Which brings me to chapter 3 of Philippians. Many things from the chapter are wonderfully rich. But this one verse jumped out at me today in a way it never has before. This will be my verse for the day. Maybe the week. Shoot, maybe the rest of this year.
Philippians 3: 16, "Only let us live up to what we have already attained."
As I walked around that airport yesterday feeling frantic I realized something profound. I was the only one who could determine my reaction to this situation. This is an important lesson for a Jesus girl to learn.
Becoming more than a good Bible study girl means we must live up to what we've already attained. We must let the lessons from our study of the Bible truly make a difference in how we approach life.
The good. The bad. And the down right ugly circumstances of life. Especially the down right ugly. And a big key to this is realizing I'm equipped to be different.
Indeed, I couldn't control what was happening to me but because of Jesus in me, I could control how I reacted.
The rude gate agent could make me feel like a worm but he could not control my reaction.
The less than helpful lost and found agent could make me feel ignored but she could not control my reaction.
The person who took my laptop could make me feel violated but they couldn't control my reaction.
Though a lot about yesterday was out of my control, I had complete control over my reaction. Only I could determine that. So, I mentally steered my feelings instead of my feelings steering me.
And good came.
No, I didn't get my laptop back but I got something amazingly wonderful yesterday. I'll tell you more about this precious gift tomorrow. I can't wait. In the meantime, let's chat in the comments today.
Do you ever struggle with this? Do you ever feel like your reactions to things betray your best of intentions? Do you ever find yourself parking your mind on things out of your control and then reacting out of control?
Was there something else from Philippians 3 that jumped out at you? I can't wait to read what you have to say.
Until tomorrow...
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