Attention Get'r

I have a friend that can tell stories for hours and they all start out "I was just minding my own business". From there they take different twists, but lead to him giving the offending person an "attention get'r". Which is a quick easy left jab to their chin. Amazingly enough, since my friend is a 6'2" 270lb farm boy, this will escalate from there and end with my friend delivering a booming right to the same chin knocking them unconscious.

In my last post I mentioned how God had been blessing us and I was singing his praises. At work about a day later, in our Tuesday afternoon group meeting, my group lead informed us we would be required to work 58 hour weeks.

Since I am salaried "No money for you, but on your death bed you will have complete and total consciousness. So, I have that going for me. Which is nice." Maybe it's a guy thing, but me and my friends quote movie lines quite a bit. I like my job and the people I work with, but 40 hours is plenty. I would much rather be home with my beautiful wife and my boys than at work. Needless to say, I was in a very foul mood.

The next morning in my quiet time God really convicted me of my bad attitude. I was grumbling and complaining about how unfair this was, when it hit me. What's not fair is that my sin hung a blameless Jesus on the cross. He loved me so much that he chose to let it happen to him. When I got to work I apologized to my group lead for my bad attitude.

Later that day at lunch I was reading chapter 2 of Francis Chan's book Crazy Love when Mr. Chan gave me an "attention get'r". I was so focused on me and how I was being wronged, that I missed the fact that it's not about me. If I grumble and complain as soon as something goes wrong, my life doesn't look any different than anyone else. I want my life to be compelling and to glorify God. That means having joy in the middle of my struggles, which is only possible when I remember it's all about God. Ouch, my chin hurts.

The next morning in my quiet time I came to a startling realization. This struggle was an answer to my prayer. Every since we decided to bring the boys with us on our first trip to Ethiopia, I have been praying that God would grow me in my ability to deal with stress. I am kind of like a turtle, when things get hard or uncomfortable I pull into my shell. I know that when we travel to Ethiopia, with our boys the first time and back with the rest of our family the second time, I will be stressed. I don't want and can't withdraw into my shell. I want and need to love and serve my family and the people we will be interacting with. I believe what I am learning now by working 58 hour weeks is preparing me for this. I just hope I can get this figured out before Mr. Chan delivers the knock out.

Brent.