Monday was a great day.  I had productive meetings, got several new projects moving, and had plans to go to an advance screening of a wonderful new movie with friends.  I picked up the kiddo and thought it would be good to run home and let her change clothes before we headed to the theater.

Upon walking into the kitchen, I was met with something like this.

With the help of my neighbor we were able to get the cause of the water stopped, but panic had already set in.  Looking out into other rooms of the house, I knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. 

Now, I manage stress pretty well.  Sure, I have my five minute meltdowns in the bathroom on occasion. But when tragedy hits, I can jump in and take care of business.  But this mess…this unplanned chaos…hit me hard.  And I knew right then that I was going to have to be very careful about how I handled myself, or I’d make things worse.  It was while sucking that second load of water out with the wetvac that I decided I would look for just one silver lining and that would help me manage my emotions.

It never ceases to amaze me how God takes our baby steps and uses them to sharpen us.  That one simple act of making a decision on how my attitude would be through the storm has made the last few days unexpectedly inspiring.

1. I have had an opportunity to be “salt and light” to people who work hard and are often treated unfairly because they see people at their worst.
2. I am truly blessed to have great insurance and money in the bank–both of which have been needed this week.
3. Because we’ve been treating the people working on our house kindly, we’ve gotten great service from them.  The folks from State Farm, Service Master, DAC, and GE have each given more than they had to.
4. I was already plotting out a renovation on the house.  While a sucky way to get there, I will now be getting new flooring in two rooms that weren’t previously in the budget.
5. Tough times bring out true friends.  In the midst of a bad week, we’ve witnessed people offering their best to us.
6. There have been some really cute men sweating on our behalf :)

I learned something Huge this week.  And even as I sit here typing this post, I am connecting the dots to another situation.  I’ve been working through something, and have let my attitude drive my decisions in the wrong direction.  What a profound reminder I’ll have from now about the power of clear decision making in determining how to look at and live in tough situations.

How has looking for the Silver Lining in bad situations reshaped your thinking?

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