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It was a Good Bad Day

I’m having a bad, bad day 
It’s about time that I get my way 
Steam rolling whatever I see, Uh 
Despicable me 
“Despicable Me”- Pharrell Williams 

Today was, as they say, “one of those days.” It actually started last night. I put a frozen pan of baked spaghetti in the oven for today’s lunch. It was in a 9 x 6 inch aluminum pan with an aluminum lid. I took off the plastic overwrap and placed the pan in the oven. When it was done, I let it cool and placed it in the fridge. When I got up this morning to pack lunch for me and my wife, Kim, I took off the foil lid to find that I had forgotten to remove the plastic wrap underneath It had melted all over the spaghetti. I threw away the spaghetti and hastily made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because I was running late. 

About 30 minutes into my 70-minute commute, I realized I had forgotten a face mask. Fortunately, I remembered that Kim had put some disposable masks in the dash in case of an emergency. There was one left. 10 minutes after that, Kim called to tell me I had forgotten my Orange Theory fitness tracker in her car. We usually go to the gym every Monday, but Kim had decided to skip today because her ankle was hurting. It’s important for me to track my progress at Orange Theory with the heart rate monitor, but the gym is located between my workplace and home and there was no way to go back and get it. 

After wrapping up a particularly busy day at work, I took my gym bag to the restroom to change. I pulled out my socks and realized I had paired two different socks together. To top it all off, I had also forgotten my gym towel and water bottle. At this point, I was ready to go home but I didn’t feel like paying the $12 cancellation charge for Orange Theory. I put on my mismatched socks, tied my shoes, and headed toward the gym. 

I made good time on the way to the gym, so I stopped by Target to buy a bottle of water. While I was there, I found a towel for $3. When I arrived at the gym, I remembered that I was wearing my Garmin watch. It wasn’t the proprietary Orange Theory band that synced with the treadmills, but I was still able to watch my heart rate and track my progress. I was also pretty sure that no one noticed my socks. They looked similar because both were gray (hence the reason they were mismatched). 

On the way home, I was reminded of Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:25-26: 

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (NASB) 

I still had a great lunch today. I’m a big fan of peanut butter and jelly. I still had a mask to wear. I had a pair of socks that looked so much alike, no one could tell they didn’t match. My Garmin fitness tracker worked fine and recorded my workout. I had so much extra time before my workout, I was able to get a bottle of water and a towel. Today didn’t go as planned, but today was a good day. God provided for me at every turn. 

The next time you are tempted to adopt a bad attitude because things don’t go your way, think about what is going right. Think about what you’re able to accomplish with what you have, not what you are unable to accomplish because of what you lack. God is well able to sustain you. He will give you what you need when you need it. Today, I experienced some minor inconveniences, but God was ready. He was not caught off guard. If He cares about such small things as socks and towels, how much more does He care about the big things?

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