I travel around the country telling people that their attitude is either their best friend or worst enemy. It isn’t the position in life; it’s the disposition. Now I’m not one of those positive blab-it-and-grab-it guys. I do tell everyone that it’s a fallen world, that Murphy was an optimist, and that there will be people trying to blow out the light at the end of the tunnel. I even tell them that every day the world rolls over on someone who is sitting on top of it. I just wasn’t expecting it to be me.
I’m a guy who doesn’t have to deal with committees, business meetings or corporate boards. All I have to do is show up, speak and leave. Then IT happened. It was an accident. Not exactly an accident. I’m reminded of the doctor who asked the rancher if he ever had an accident. The rancher replied that he hadn’t, and the doctor asked, “Never in your whole life?” The rancher replied that last spring he had been in the corral and the bull tossed him over the fence. The doctor asked if that wasn’t an accident. The rancher replied that he thought the bull had done it on purpose.
I had an accident, but I guess it happened on purpose. I was playing my son-in-law and my grandson in basketball. I discovered that at my age your mind makes commitments that your body can’t keep. I wish I could say I fell the wrong way after dunking the ball a little too hard. Actually I just fell. To make a long story even longer, the next week I had to call Dan Yeary from the Scottsdale hospital to tell him I could not speak because I had a blood clot. Then the next week, I was in surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. Now the guy who only has to show up can’t show. I tell people 80 percent of life is just showing up. Now I know why they say “No show, no dough!”
I was now showing up at the hospital, where I discovered that my insurance covered just about as much as my hospital gown. Now I made payments for services rendered. I asked them why I received a time-released pill. They told me that it started working when my check cleared. I thought it wasn’t so bad because I had disability insurance. I’ll put it this way: If you are ever sick or in an accident, you will never hear these two phrases — “It doesn’t matter, you are covered,” or “That’s for the general public, not you. Yours is taken care of.”
I have discovered that when you are flying high and doing great, you start to believe you are not the general public. Gravity, insurance policies, and even my medicine have convinced me that I am the general public. For example, my sleeping pills have a warning that says, “May cause drowsiness.” That is a little too much. So now I am home, in a cast on crutches. Life is going downhill. My wife has given me 18 shots in the stomach — it was prescribed by a physician.
We have now returned a check to the business event that I had to cancel.
I have decided to practice what I preach. I have noticed that ungrateful people become hateful people and eventually destroy everything around them. Grateful people become great people and help develop everyone around them.
I thought about the phrase, “It’s not your position in life, but your disposition.” That is true in the work world. But in the spiritual world, your position will determine your disposition. It’s your position in Christ that allows you to see the good in a situation, because you can trust the God of the situation. You can never see the sun rise by looking to the west. Why? You are not in the right position.
I realized that I was resenting my situation rather than receiving it. The position is really simple. I was reminded of this when I prayed with my granddaughter. We close our hands and say, “God is great, God is good … let us thank Him.” I am not thanking him for the bum leg, but that He is great enough to get a blessing out of the blunder and good enough to use it for my development.
I love the story of Matthew Henry, who wrote in his diary: “Today I was robbed, and I thank God. First, I thank Him that the thief took my wallet and not my life. Secondly, I thank God that even though the thief took all I had, I didn’t have much to take. Thirdly, I thank God that I was the one robbed and not the one doing the robbing.”
I have experienced what my dad told me years ago. He said that marriage is like a shade tree. You plant it while it is young, take care of it, and one day you will enjoy the shade. It was nice to rest in the shade of my wife’s love. (Except for the shots.)
Now I’m back on the road. I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak again. Of course, attitude is always a work in progress. In one of my first events, I was complaining about the steps that led up to the platform. I was on my crutches and feeling a little sorry for myself. I told the guy helping me that I sure was a lot of trouble. He just smiled and told me that it was really no big deal.
He told me that the man that spoke for this event last year was Tim Lee, a great American hero. The name didn’t ring a bell with me. I asked who Tim Lee was. He said, “Oh you know who he is; he’s the speaker who lost his legs.” At that time, I promise I thought I heard the angels laughing.