Yes, that’s peanut butter on my umbrella… What do you do when your day starts out all wrong?

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Have you ever had a “how did I manage to get peanut butter on my umbrella” moment? Yeah, I kind of thought I might be the only one who’s had that happen.

Have you ever looked down and noticed you were wearing two different shoes? Yup, that’s happened to me too. Ok, maybe that’s never happened to you either. But, have you ever noticed that some days you can have a really long day, or a day when challenges come at you from all directions only to look up from your mess and realize it’s not even 9am yet?

I’ve had my share of “those” days.

To be honest, before this past week, I don’t think I ever used the words “peanut butter” and “umbrella” in the same sentence. I’m guessing you haven’t either.

It all started innocently enough. I was running late for work because I accidently turned my alarm clock off instead of hitting snooze. Rushing out the door I grabbed a slice of peanut butter toast to go. Glancing over I saw an umbrella on the floor. Remembering the forecast, I grabbed the umbrella and put it on the seat next to me so that I’d remember to take it along into the office. Moments later, I was on my way.

I planned to eat my breakfast as soon as I got down the road. The peanut butter toast was safely positioned next to my center console, the same center console that incidentally stopped my rolling umbrella when I rounded a bend near the end of my street. Hence, peanut butter on my umbrella.
For the rest of my commute, I thought about how some days seem destined to be ruined before they’ve really had a chance to start. Unanticipated frustrations slap us in the face tempting us to wave our proverbial white flag of surrender or cause us to consider writing the entire day off as a “bad day.”
But amidst my oversleeping, running late, peanut butter on my umbrella start to my day, I realized that even though the day hadn’t started the way I would like, it was still full of possible. Just because the morning found new ways to challenge me didn’t mean I needed to allow it to rob the potential for the rest of the day. Last I checked, a day had 24 hours in it. Why are we then so quick to label a day a bad day if just one of those hours doesn’t cooperate with our plan?

How do you turn it around?
1. Remind yourself that bad moments don’t mean the entire day is bad.
2. Look for the positive. Find the silver lining. When you search for the good in a day, you’ll find it.
3. Laugh about it. Find humor in the crazy things life comes up with like peanut butter on an umbrella.
4. Share with a friend who can help you keep your perspective.
5. Move on. Don’t dwell in the challenges. Instead view them as pot holes on the road of life and keep going.

Psalm 118:24 says “ This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Ps 114:24 ESV

Scriptures remind us that even our difficult days are in God’s hands. It doesn’t say rejoice on the good days but instead reminds us that this too is the day He has made – even the – my car has a flat tire, my toddler just dumped my purse, my husband forgot our anniversary, nothing is going right days.

The next time you have a day that is unraveling before your eyes, resist the urge to label the entire day as a bad day and look for the positive!

How about you…Have you ever worn two different shoes or landed peanut butter on your umbrella? How do you keep your perspective on difficult days? Or, did my story encourage you? I’d love to hear from you!

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