False Advertising

Oh sometimes how I wish life could be as simple as a Burger King motto. Today, if I could have "had it my way" I would:

• not have spent an hour cleaning the kitchen this morning.
  
• have seen a different balance in my bank account.
• spent $5 dollars on my week's worth of groceries instead of $150.
• have not seen my son cry over discovering his bike had been stolen.
• would have seen my son's bike magically appear on our doorstep.
• not have heard the news that a friend's newborn baby will be coming home from the hospital to peacefully die of a rare, unfixable heart condition.  (The second baby I have known in the past two weeks to not live past her 2nd month of life.)

Yes, if I could have authored my life today, it would have looked a bit different. And such is the deceptiveness of a BK motto. There are many things in life that I think I have a choice over, like whether or not I'd like onions on my hamburger, and how I'll spend my time and money. But then there is so much more to this life that is simply out of my control. A baby's failed heart, a personal theft, the economy. For all that I cannot hold, manipulate, or fix, I trust God to allow those things to come to me in the right doses, only what I can handle, only what is fitting for the growth of my character, heart and soul. (Sometimes I worry that He thinks I can handle a lot more than I think I can, but that's another issue.) And if I find myself blaming him for the bad, then it only is fair I thank him for the good. Just my opinion if I'm being so honest...

While I'm being so reflective, I realize that there is one more thing that I do have control over: how I respond to the uncontrollable things that blow my way. 

So today, after shedding a few tears and angry words over the bike theft and bike thief, Zach and I decided that there was nothing we could do but move on with our afternoon together. We couldn't go out for a bike ride/run to Harvey Bear Park as planned, so we headed out in search of a strawberry shake and cheeseburger. Sometimes it's the little things that we do have control over that momentarily ease a troubled heart.  Not an ultimate fix, but you know...