So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:6
Yesterday, my oldest needed to attend a meeting over two hours away. It was about 85 degrees and I was wearing shorts, a short sleeve shirt, and flip-flops. Please understand that when it’s winter, I’m dressed in warm clothes, so I’m quite happy when it’s cooler in the vehicle. I was unprepared for the sub-zero temperatures of the vehicle when I jumped in.
By the time we got to our destination, I think I had icicles forming! Why didn’t I take a jacket? Usually I have one to drape over my legs, but not yesterday. I just made myself as small as possible to conserve heat and not be in the line of the cold winds (air conditioner) blowing on me.
It reminded me of going out into the woods with my dad on a cold, snowy day. I used to put so many layers on that I’d wobble when taking a single step. Dad tended to do everything he could to make me comfortable, but it still got chilly.
I remember that he would have a little heater for me to put my hands over to keep warm, along with hand warmers too. If it rained or even snowed too much, he had a great big umbrella to shield us from the elements. We sat in lawn chairs to see the beautiful landscape…no sitting on the ground for me! He would even bring food to cook outside so we’d have a nice, hot meal. We were roughing it! Oh, and if I had to use the bathroom, I just walked the short path home. Sorry, I went back in time; let me get back on track.
My point about going out in the woods in the winter was that I’d make myself as small as possible and tuck my chin into my many layers, then I’d doze off to sleep. Yep, that happened yesterday too, but I didn’t have all the layers. I just imagined I did.
I did eventually smarten up and shut off the top vents that were blowing directly on my upper body. I was thinking though that it would be really nice if the hubby would just turn down the air for a short bit. Since he was driving, I didn’t want to sit there and grumble about it. I couldn’t wait to jump out of the vehicle as soon as we arrived!
Do you know what I realized when I was waiting for my oldest to get done with the meeting? I sat there freezing the whole way (hoping my hubby would get cold and turn down the air conditioning) when it dawned on me that I had my own temperature control for my side. It happened to be set for the coldest temperature it could. No wonder I was freezing! This wasn’t a new car…I knew all about the controls, but I think the initial temperature must’ve frozen my brain cells!
Don’t tell me you haven’t ever done something a little ditzy like I did yesterday. Have you ever gotten so wrapped up in being miserable that you didn’t recognize you had the power to simply fix it?
Stop waiting for someone else to make a change for you when you have the controls to do it yourself! They may be completely unaware of what’s even happening. Don’t curl up and doze off, but be fully awake to the solution instead of wallowing in self-pity because of the problem.
