It could be worse...couldn't it?

I constantly am thinking of a children’s story that Gavin has called “It could have been worse.” The story has stayed with me over the years. It is a story about a field mouse that has the most horrible day! He falls, and gets hurt, almost drowns, loses his stuff…and yeah it was a pretty terrible day! But while he is out there experiencing “Payne Luck” as we would call it in our house…he really was avoiding more terrible, almost grave disasters!

For example…he fell into a hole in the ground right before a cat could pounce on him and ultimately have him for lunch. The mouse only knows he fell and got hurt. He never saw the cat, and never knew how much worse it could have been.

Once I was at a crossroads in my life and had to give up a job that I really loved! I knew that most likely I would later need this job! I took my chances and left anyway. No one saw fault in my decision, but the reason I left the job did not work out, and I was left to look for a new job at a very difficult time in my life. I held resentment towards someone for a long time regarding this job…he was the biggest reason I let it go. I was mad for YEARS. Honestly, sometimes I still am, even if things worked better for me then I could have planned!

In the long run I found the BEST job ever! The job and I were a perfect fit. I truly was placed there for a reason. The friendships I made there, the experience, opportunities, and my own personal self confidence blossomed. One day the very girl I had trained to do my old job came in for an interview where I was now working. Two years had passed since I had left my old job. She explained to me that the Doctor/surgeon we had been working for had developed a neurological disorder and could no longer perform surgery and was going to retire. She was forced to leave my old job. I was shocked! Had I been able to have things my own way…I still would have had to look for a new job, and I would have missed out on the perfect opportunity I currently had at hand.

Sometimes we get so upset when things don’t go our way. We question the existence of God himself. Could it be that all along God is keeping even worse fates at bay? I like to believe that he is.

I think about the baby that I miscarried years ago. It was terribly sad at the time, but two months later I was pregnant with Macey, and we could not imagine our lives without our princess.

We all have what ifs, but the what ifs I have in my life are entirely out of my control and I will never know a different outcome then what is presently at hand. So why worry about them?

Then I think about the normal day to day dramas that inconvenience me. I am late for work because the dog ran off, or Gavin forget his house key, Macey spilt her drink all over her. Maybe I am late for a reason. Just like the man who worked in the twin towers and stepped into a drug store to buy something for the blisters his new shoes were giving him. While he was making his purchase the first plane crashed into the tower, and the man’s very life was spared.

So remember the next time you are having a bad day maybe there is a reason…and things REALLY could be worse!