A few years ago the Lord dropped this powerful rhyme into my mind, and it has stuck like glue:
“When it’s all about me, happiness will flee!”
I was thinking about the day He originally impressed it on me; it was during a memorable lunch date with my dear friend, Jen Cooper. At the time our boys were in preschool, and Jen’s little girl was just a precious 18 month old baby. We went to the good ol’ Bob Evans restaurant for lunch. It was super busy and certainly not quiet, and we were having a great time. The baby let out some squeals and there was a lot of uproarious laughter! My friend Jen is hilarious, and I could always count on her to make me laugh and laugh hard! The table next to us kept giving us the “stink eye” and turning around and frowning at us every time we let out a burst of laughter. I kept thinking that maybe we should move…we were obviously disturbing this group of people. I started praying that God would help me to relax and enjoy our time, and that the grumpy people would somehow relax as well! They left and we stayed.
What happened next was so amazing. An elderly couple who had also been sitting nearby, actually walked over to our table. I thought, “Oh no, they are going to let us have it!” But to my surprise they expressed how much they had enjoyed seeing our kids having fun, and that they, “missed those days.” The sweet lady said, “I’m glad to see young moms supporting one another.” They were extremely kind and encouraging in their words to us.
It struck me how the perspectives of these two sets of people were completely opposite!
Isn’t it funny how the first set was hating us and hating life for the exact reason that the other set was loving us and loving life?
To top this off, when we went to pay our bill, someone had paid for our meal! I think the message for me was: Don’t let people who are miserable and all about themselves make you miserable and all about yourself! See, I almost let those grumpy peeps completely steal that precious time with my child and dear friends. That would have been selfish on my part. Perspective is key. And I believe the Lord prompted that sweet couple to come over to bless us and encourage us! I want to be like them! I know I have been the grumpy one before, and I have allowed myself to get irritated with people who may not be “behaving” exactly as I think they should. Overall a great reminder that a gracious, loving attitude toward others and an unselfish perspective are huge factors in enjoying life. Bottom line is: when it’s all about me, happiness will FLEE!