“Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own
understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
I
AM NOT A MORNING PERSON!! Now, when I
say that I am not a morning person, it does not mean that I lie around in bed
until 9:00a.m. or 10:00a.m. That’s call lazy. What I mean is that it takes me a little bit
of time to function in the early morning.
Yes, I like to be up by or before dawn.
However, I don’t just spring out of bed and in two minutes I am fully
ready to start the day. For me, it takes
time…and COFFEE!
Those
that knew me while I was working as a sales specialist at a home improvement
store, knew that the moment that I entered the building was NOT the time to
start bombarding me with questions or problems.
In fact, certain members of my installed sales team would hit me with
install problems as soon as I hit the door to their office. Literally, one morning I responded, “Hold it
right there. When I walk in at the start
of the day and this is the first that you have seen me, feel free to say ‘Hello’,
give me a smile, or whatever. Please, do
NOT begin with ‘We have a problem’ or ‘I need your help with…’ I am going to go to my desk, with my coffee,
get settled in, THEN I will come back in and we can look at problems that need
to be addressed. Thank you.” Then, I turned around and left their office.
Some
may say that I was being rude. Not at
all. Blunt, yes. Rude, no.
What I was asking them to acknowledge is to allow me to get into work
mode. After all, I had just stepped into
the building. Who wants to walk into
their work environment and get attacked with problems, before you even get a
nice morning greeting? No one! Those first few moments set the tone for the
entire day. If you are surrounded by
people that are ready to panic or stress out upon first contact, then your day
is going to be one of anxiety and stress.
NOT a good way to start…especially for someone that requires a bit of
coffee to get focused in the morning.
Simply
stated, for me to deal with a day that will have moments of stress, I NEED to
begin my day with moments of peace. It
prepares my mind for the mental conflicts that may come. It prepares my body for the fatigue that can, unwelcomingly, wash over me. I cannot keep the stress
from appearing. I can, however, control
how I choose to prepare myself for it.
Galatians 5:22 states that, among many things, peace is the “fruit of the Spirit”.
Peace brings clarity of the mind, stamina of the body, and a strong
resolve in the spirit.
If
you have those around you that tend to start your day with piles of stress,
take a moment or two to excuse yourself from the situation. Take the time to get focused before engaging
the situation. Don’t allow others to throw
the weight onto your shoulders the second that you walk into the room. Also, take the time to speak with them about
these actions and how toxic they can be for you, and for themselves. Find your peace each morning.
That
being said, could you pass me the coffee pot, please?
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