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What was your last bad moment? I don’t mean a stubbing your toe sort of thing, but a really bad moment in your life. Come to think of it, I stubbed my toe last month and my nail is showing lasting effects. It might qualify as a really bad moment, since I’ll be reminded of it for the next few months as my toenail heals.
We’re told “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, and other glib little quotes. But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Oops, another glib little quote, but one that I use a lot.
What was your last bad moment? And did you, or could you turn it into good? Life can be so depressing and bleak. We’ve got to find ways to not just keep going, but to find the joy and the hope in every situation.
A friend of mine recently told a great story, one that illustrates how negative circumstances became a beacon of positive outcomes. She met her friend for dinner one evening. They hadn’t seen each other in years. After a marvelous four hours of eating and laughing and reminiscing, they escorted each other out to the parking lot. The ladies stopped at the first car, and my friend waited to make sure it started. Except it didn’t. The woman tried again, and again (as most of us who don’t speak car mechanics will do.) The car wouldn’t start. My friend took her dinner companion to the nearest car parts store (thank you, Google), and described the situation. “Oh, it sounds like the battery. What’s the year, make, and model?” Twenty minutes a quite a few dollars later, the women left with a battery and detailed instructions on how to install it.
They followed the instructions carefully, or thought they did, but they still couldn’t get the car to start. My friend suggested trying just one more time. And it worked! The ladies danced and jumped around like loonies with their cell phone lights flashing in the air. To the outside world they should have been at a concert, or maybe locked up at the nearest psychiatric hospital. But that’s when they realized the bad moment had become an amazing one! They’d bonded over a dead battery and learned some new life skills. And they had a brand new memory to share at future dinners.
Jann Goar Franklin graduated Russellville High School in 1985 and lives in Grand Cane, Louisiana. She also writes books, which are for sale at www.jannfranklin.com. You can reach her at jann@jannfranklin.com