The older I get the more I have discovered how little I actually control. In fact, the only thing I can have complete decisive control over is………my own attitude!
Isn’t life interesting. You plan, save, buy insurance, look to the future with optimism, feeling fairly confident that you have prepared for every eventuality – and then life happens! Stuff that you never expected, didn’t know existed and had no idea could actually impact your little corner of the world decides to make an appearance. And now, what do we do?
One of our dads lost his job at the beginning of the summer and he had a very interesting perspective. He told us that they saved an amazing amount of money this summer because he didn’t have to spend much of anything on gas, meals and other superflous expense that comes with being employed. He is an avid gardener and has enjoyed expanding their vegetable gardens this summer, supplying the family with fresh veggies. He even lost 20 pounds because he was eating in instead of out. Now, while being unemployed was not a permanent solution for their family, his attitude was optimistic and positive! What a perspective!
It reminds me of this little story. There was once a small child riding in an elevator, standing beside her daddy. As the 
elevator went up story by story, more and more people got on. Pretty soon the elevator was very full. The air became stuffy and the little child could not see anything worth seeing. She was crowded and had no place to move. Maybe the elevator was stuck, because she could no longer see the numbers above the elevator door! She wasn’t even sure where her daddy was. In fear she called out and held up her little hands. Her father heard her voice, looked down and saw the distress on her face. He gently reached down, picked her up and held her in his arms. Suddenly, there in her father’s arms, she saw over the top of the heads of people in the crowded, stuffy elevator, discovered the door was still opening and closing and knew it would soon be their turn to exit. Perspective makes all the difference!
