It's 28 degrees on a Tuesday (which feels like Monday). Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be cold on a morning when you have to trek 15 minutes across campus for your workout? (Which of course you are already late for.) But you don't let that get you down.
On your way to the gym, your nose is basically frozen because it's the only part of your body not bundled up in something warm. It's probably going to fall off. Time to call the hospital, you think. Who needs a nose anyways? But still, you're in a good mood. At least you woke up this morning. You could have stayed in bed and been lazy.
It's leg day. Oh joy. Leg day is my favorite, said no one ever. One intense workout after another, but you don't let it get to you because you're jammin' to your favorite artist in your headphones. (And Pandora gave you an ad-free hour for listening to a 15-second ad...so there's that).
After your workout, you prepare for the trek back to the dorm room. As soon as you hit the cold you're ready to run back inside, but you need to be productive. You're imagining how great the coffee you're going to get will be. Just gotta shower and get ready for the day, then you can grab your ID....oh crap. Where is my ID? Why is it not in my pocket? I had to have it to get to the gym..it has to be here somewhere. But it's not. It's gone. There goes your coffee. There goes your meal pass for the week. There goes your good day.
You begin your long hike back to the gym to look for your lifeline here at school. It's nowhere to be seen. You check everywhere you can think. No one has seen it at the gym so you head back to the dorm knowing you won't be getting coffee anytime soon.
So what do you do when nothing goes your way?
Tuesday could quite possibly be the worst day of your life, but instead of letting all of the horrible things that went wrong get you down, think about all of the things that went right.
1. You woke up. You're living and breathing. God gave you another day.
There are so many people in this world who did not wake up this morning. People everywhere are mourning the loss of another loved one. It is such a blessing to know that God wakes you up morning after morning when people worldwide are suffering from pain and loss.
2. You got a good workout in. You have free access to a gym.
Okay, maybe it's not completely free, but your tuition covers the cost of a gym that people would pay hundreds for. Also, that workout won't be something you regret. When your body finally looks like you've wanted it to, you'll look back and remember that leg day wasn't so bad.
3. People are constantly praying for you. People love you.
After that phone call to your mom (the one where you almost burst into tears), you remember how blessed you are. Your mom reminds you that everything will be okay and on your walk back to the dorm she prays over you. God has a great way of reminding us how loved we truly are.
4. You got to see the sunrise.
How many times do you take that for granted? How often does the sunrise get lost in the lazy mornings in bed or the crazy mornings in the gym? Seeing the sunrise is such a beautiful reminder of the creation God has blessed us with.
5. K-LOVE's Encouraging Word of the Day was definitely encouraging.
After a bad morning, you look to the daily verse that gets sent to your phone and it says "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 106:1 Such a great reminder that no matter the struggle, He will always love you and you should always give Him thanks.
6. You've still got your coffee.
That moment when you are ready to drop to the ground and give up on everything is the same moment a "God smile" (as my mom would call it) appears. Someone is handing out free coffee in the plaza. You gladly take the warmth of the coffee and the hug from a friend as you head back to your room.
Everything gets better.
Next time you are ready to give up and let yourself stew on all of the bad things that happened in the span of two hours, try instead to think of the beautiful things that happened. Thank God for the little miracles and smiles He sends you. Even on the coldest and darkest of days, the sun is up somewhere.
