Ever since I went in for my blood test for our marriage license, I never relished the experience of getting my blood drawn. It took me quite a while to figure out that God gave me O Positive as a blood type to help me look at it differently. After September 11, 2001 I realized I needed to man up and start volunteering to giving blood. Even though my comfort level going in was shaky at best, the joy of helping in a small way turned that experience each visit from a negative into a huge euphoric sensation. I made it a personal challenge after that to give 6 times a year if possible and to get to 100 pints. I accomplished that small goal but trust me, I know several people who have given 5-10 times more than that number.
The point is to let us all consider what bumps we have faced in our lives and what did we learn or accomplish after we got past it.
One that leaps to the front of my noggin happened several years ago at my largest customer and their busiest weekend of the year. They were highly dependent on our cushioning material to protect their expensive product. They had several production lines with our equipment at the end of each line. My technician was on vacation and his back up was 2-3 hours away in a “best case” scenario. Two systems went down and I immediately went to the account and over time was able to get them running again. Two days later on a Friday morning they once again needed immediate service. Their breakdowns occurred more from overuse than anything. That is a lesson which can be included with most body joints but there is a time and place for that conversation which is not now. My back up tech could not get there in a timely fashion so I went and fortunately after 2 plus hours got them running again. I drove home and after arriving home at close to 7pm I get a phone call that another line broke down and they were running all weekend. Well, I had plans to go visit my Dad in a nursing home on Saturday 3 hours away. So scrambling, my wife volunteered to go alone while I drove the 85 miles to service the account on Saturday morning. At that point, I was hanging on for dear life that my customer would not bring in our main competitor so I left early Saturday with my tool kit. To cut to the chase, I was there for 5-6 hours and the customer’s maintenance department helped me to get them going. Meanwhile, my wife did a wonderful job at wheeling my Dad out to the main television area and basically told anyone planted by the TV that we were watching Northwestern play their Big Ten football game today! My Dad was so impressed how she took over and he really enjoyed the Northwestern victory. That following Monday I found out that my customer was quite pleased with my effort in turning their downtime into doable uptime that it made an impression that really helped us when future negotiations came about. Secondly, my Mom called to say Dad just kept raving about his daughter in law and how she diplomatically took over the entertainment area. This surefire disaster of a weekend actually gained creditability for our household that never would have developed without the service distress.
I often wonder why the 100 meter hurdles for women and 110 meter hurdles for men should also be the name for our lifetime diploma. Not only are there hurdles but they can come at you fast. Then, if you really dig into your obstacle inventory some may be longer lasting so the track fanatics give you the 400 meter hurdles.
Being a grandparent I cannot end this piece without a story about Pop and his granddaughter. Nana and I were babysitting the grandkids while their parents were taking an exercise walk during our beach week. Nana brought one of her adult coloring books and encouraged me to color with our granddaughter. Seeing that our grandson was engaged in his own project I was having trouble searching for a creative way out of this activity. My macho jock mentality was trying to sabotage me from picking up a crayon but once I started coloring our granddaughter was quite pleased with my choice of colors so I continued onward. I was taken back to my youngster years and how crayons can have such color. I am reading a book my sister in law gave me, “Imagine Heaven,” by John Burke. Based on what I read so far, if I think the crayon coloring was looking cool, the witnessing of near death experiences by many depict an incredible brilliant lighting that we have not seen in our lifetime. I highly recommend this book. Needless to say, I am thankful to have been pushed by Nana and my granddaughter and what seemed like a chore at first, gave me joy in the end.
Hebrews 12:1-3 sums up this article with the ultimate positive coming out of a negative. If the Holy Bible doesn’t excite you, I recommend reading it for the self-help lessons.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Amazing how I have similar experiences with bothersome Client expectations and having to fix our stuff at the worst times of the week.
I don’t know how anyone navigates through life without a group of believers helping you at low times. The older we get the more frequently we need prayer warriors and “all hands on deck” for each other.
Thanks for your insights.