Did you know there are people who view getting towed by Triple AAA as an adventure?I've seen some great examples this past week of maintaining a good attitude through difficult times.
Generally speaking when "times get tough" many people whine, complain, point fingers, and blame. And I'm just as bad as the next guy!
It's unusual for people to be able to automatically look for the silver lining when dark clouds envelop them. People who can pull this off are people worth taking notice of!
Here are 2 examples: When Jennifer Bryan was driving her kids back from Los Angeles her van broke down in the middle of nowhere. Obviously she wasn't delighted; John hadn't come on the trip so Jennifer was the lone adult with 4 hungry kids and they were stranded!
But, Jennifer took it pretty much in stride and convinced her kids that it was an adventure. Finally getting the van towed into a tiny town they enjoyed Mexican popsicles while they learned more about specialty farming in that community, especially growing watermelons. Jennifer noted she'd never deliberately seek out an afternoon waiting around in a remote place so it became a unique experience.
And so they waited...until the van was repaired just enough to get safely home. But Jennifer had no complaints. Instead she expressed gratitude for cell phones (without which she would have really been in a jam) and seemed genuinely surprised by how enlightening the afternoon had actually turned out!
A second example I read about in an Ensign article by Larry Richman. He shared the story of a young mother in his stake who remained cheerful and optimistic while she endured a 4 year battle with cancer.
This young mother wrote her own obituary. One part of it read: "At the young age of 29, I was introduced to something called cancer. Cancer was my great adversary, but I have learned that in this life our enemies can become our choicest friends; the secret is in learning what to do with the conflict."
When I see other people use adversity to make them better people I'm humbled. I realize how much I can learn both from others and also from adversity. Another quote I'm using today in my Seminary lesson to the youth (I'm not sure who penned it) is: "There is nothing worse than living through the trial, but missing the learning."
I should more actively look for the lessons I might receive during (or after) trials! I should also learn to voice less complaints and more compliments! Although I doubt I'll ever be anything but perturbed and frustrated when I need to call Triple AAA!
