It’s good to have a place called home.  It’s good to have a warm bed to sleep in.  It’s good to have family members and pets who love and miss me when I’m gone.  Sadly, I often take these things for granted – until I have a really bad day and am reminded of several behavioral lessons I need to revisit.

Earlier this week I was scheduled to attend a conference with a group from my church, but unfortunately, we never made it.  After an initial flight delay, we safely arrived at the Dallas Love Field airport to switch planes – but due to an airline staff shortage, mechanical issues, and troublesome weather, we eventually had to turn around and head home, missing the conference all together.  It truly was “the perfect storm”. 

Thankfully, the airline agent was great.  She was accommodating, gracious, kind – and smart.  “I really feel badly for everyone,” she told me, “so I do what I can, try to remember that I can’t control what I can’t control, and keep in mind that things could be worse …trust me on this last one,” she added.  And there you have it – the three-point lesson for the day.

It’s easy to get frustrated when life continually throws us curve balls – unscheduled meetings, kids’ poor behaviors, angry parents.  But the key is to not let negative external events, no matter how overwhelming they might be, tear down our internal positive and hopeful perspective.  Do what you can, relinquish control over the things you can’t, and count your blessings.  Sound somewhat familiar?  Yep.  It’s called the Serenity Prayer for a reason.

Have a great week.