Life Has Its Challenges

Life has its challenges, that’s for sure. But I think one of the hardest challenges is trying to always look for the good in people. I mean, It’s easy to be cynical, judgmental, and impatient with people because, you know, they’re people. But as a Christian, I feel an obligation to be patient and kind, and yet sometimes its really hard! 

Two weeks ago, I pulled into the parking lot at Saddleback Church in Rancho Capistrano around 7:00am on Monday morning. My job was to inspect the Light Poles at the nearby Soccer Field and since it was early, the parking lot was empty. I had just dropped my tailgate and put on my yellow work vest when I heard a man screaming at the top of his lungs. I looked in the direction of the sound and a man in his thirties was careening towards me at full speed on a bicycle, yelling and cursing, and screaming that he was going to kill me. I was shocked and stood still for a moment, but when he reached me and threw his bike down onto the asphalt, and charged towards screaming, “You’re a dead man!”, I slowly reached for my hammer on top of my toolbox in the back of my truck. As he charged at me, cursing me at the top of his lungs, I squeezed the handle of that hammer, hoping… no praying… that I wouldn’t have to use it.

But somehow, I remained calm, looked directly into his eyes, and surprisingly he stopped 5’ in front of me. And yet he kept yelling, “I’m going to kill you!” My heart was beating out of my chest,  but I could tell he was high on drugs, so I kept my mouth shut and stayed calm. I think it confused him, because for just a few seconds he stopped yelling. Then he started up again, telling me I would be dead before the end of the day. But then, thankfully, he got back on his bike and rode away. I called 911 and let the Sheriffs know what happened because the man was obviously dangerous and deranged, and the Church parking lot would soon be filled with innocent people.

One week later, I completed a Light Pole Inspection at a Stater Brothers Shopping Center in a not so great area of San Dimas. As I sat in my truck filling out paperwork, there was a loud rapping on my driver’s side window. I turned and was startled to see a very large, crazy looking woman with braided corn rows shooting out in every direction on top of her head. She was wide eyed and disheveled looking and kept knocking away. My first thought was, “Here we go again!” But as I rolled down my window, just a little, she asked me a question. “Mister, did you lose a tool?”

She then explained that she saw a sharp tool lying next to one of my tires. She said she kicked it away because she didn’t want me to run over it. I got out of my truck, and she pointed to a cold chisel about 20’ away. Sure enough, it had fallen out of my tool bucket. I picked it up and thanked her and she said, in a very soft and kind voice, “Well, I just didn’t want you to get a flat tire and have a bad day.” Turns out she was a very sweet woman who was simply trying to do a good deed.

When I got back in my truck, I instantly felt bad that I let an experience with a bad person cause me to temporarily think poorly of a good person. So I guess I failed that challenge. And yet, if you ask me, success in life comes from learning from our mistakes… and better yet… sharing what we learn with others! 

Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are.

                                                                        ~ Wayne Dyer                                                            

 

 

Learning To Fly

When I was a young boy I dreamed of flying. I wanted to learn how to fly, blasting off from the earth, soaring high in the sky, and bursting through the clouds at the speed of sound. That seemed to me like the ultimate thrill. Being a pilot seemed like the total dream job.

Alas, back in those days you had to have 20/20 vision to be a pilot and there was no such thing as Lasik surgery. So I gave up that goal, but I never stopped dreaming. Every night, as I knelt down to say my prayers, I would ask God to “Make me a bird and fly me far, far away”. Okay, sorry, that’s a line from the Forrest Gump movie… but you get the idea. Pilots were always tall and strong and brave and trustworthy, and very, very cool.

So when I received a photo of my granddaughter last week, it really put my head in the clouds. There she was, sitting at the controls of a jumbo jet liner headed for the east coast. Lights and buttons and switches surrounding her on every side, a smile on her face beaming confidence and joy. She was living the dream!

But wait, I forgot to mention that she is only two years old… and yet she is already living the dream! So maybe she wasn’t actually flying the plane, but she wasn’t scared either because even at only two years old she knew the man in the cockpit would control the plane, keep everyone safe, and get everyone to where they want to go.

Seeing that photo of her got me thinking… Knowing there is someone in control who will get us to where we want to go, is so awesome. But we have to make a choice. Do we board that plane and trust that pilot. Or even more important… Do we kneel down and trust the Lord to get us to where we want to go, or do we try to do it on our own? I know what I choice I would make!

Faith is the act of magnifying God, enlarging our vision of Him. 

Step into the cockpit to see where He sits and observe how He works. 

                                                                                       ~ Max Lucado                                                           

A Cool New Tool

When I do my job inspecting light poles with my ultrasonic equipment, sometimes the poles are buried in thick hedges or behind bushes. It can be a real nightmare. So I thought about it and decided to buy myself a really cool battery operated hedge trimmer… and it totally solved the problem! Which reminds me of what my Dad used to tell me, the right tool makes all the difference.

When I told my wife about my cool new tool, she kind of laughed and said, “You’ve always had a problem with bushes.” I wasn’t sure what she meant, so she explained that I often “beat around the bush” when I talk to people. You know what…she is right! However, I don’t think my cool new tool will help me with that problem.

My mistake is that I need to stop worrying so much about what people think and be more direct. My wife is a good example for me to follow because she is very straight forward and upfront with people. And I think people appreciate that because she is considerate, but also true to herself and very consistent.

So one of my New Year’s resolutions is to try to be more assertive and direct with people. And by that I mean communicating openly and honestly, expressing my thoughts and feelings clearly without beating around the bush, essentially saying exactly what I mean without trying to sugarcoat it or avoid sensitive topics. I already know it won’t be easy for me, because I was born “a salesman”. But as I mentioned in my last Monday Message, I value my relationships with people a lot, so anything I can do to improve in that area will be worth it. And to help me achieve that goal, I placed a small sticker on the back of my phone that simply says “BMD”(be more direct) as a reminder. I consider it to be the right tool and a cool new tool as well!

I think naturally, if you’re an actor, there’s a high level of assertiveness

 that you need to have to survive in this business. 

There’s boldness in being assertive, and there’s strength and confidence. 

~ Bryan Cranston