A(ttitude)djustment

Clay & I have Amazon Prime & use the entertainment portion to watch tv series/movies instead of paying for cable. The night before he was scheduled to be in the fields for the week, the TV stopped working. *Great, my week alone just got more lonely.* He spent hours trying to fix the issue before he left, but couldn't. After he left, I tried, my friend tried, google tried, but still nothing. So, I started out that week with an unpleasant attitude. I was already unhappy about him leaving so soon from the last time he left. I felt I didn't see him enough for him to be leaving already. I was not feeling well, & now I had no TV to keep me company at night. I let all my negative thoughts and feelings decide what the week was about to look like. Low and behold, the week turned out exactly how my attitude about it was.

Wouldn't you know, the minute (absolutely no joke) Clay returns home, the TV works again. Clearly, that was no coincidence; God wanted to educate me further on two words: attitude and adjustment.

** Even when I think I have a respectable handle on my attitude and emotions (which I have immensely improved with & God knows that), God allows me to dig a bit deeper & plant myself a bit firmer in Him. I am sure the digging will never fully come to an end. Why? Because I am human. **

-----Attitude & Adjustment -----

What leads to a bad attitude resulting in the need of an adjustment? Change. Whether it be people, schedules, career opportunity, residency, opinions, beliefs, life, death ...it is all change. With whatever that change is, comes an adjustment period. Sometimes if I cannot learn how to adjust, an unpleasant attitude forms, resulting in me needing to place an order to God for an attitude adjustment.

Broadening this up from the TV scenario (because that truly is menial and was meant for the purpose of a concrete example...I can easily live without TV), the Marine Corps lifestyle has nudged me to purchase an attitude indicator from God. (I use the Weather Channel app constantly to track the sunrise/sunset, the hourly degree forecast, the current humidity percentage, & the current mph winds. This clearly can seem excessive to some, but I love it & it is just part of my personality, of course.) Just as the Weather Channel app can help me adjust for what outdoor attire is appropriate at any given time, this attitude indicator lets me know when an unpleasant situation is in the forecast & helps me adjust my attitude accordingly.

{ Attitude adjustments in a certain area may not need attention for someone else as personality plays a large role in behavior. I studied Psychology in college as my minor & had entire courses specifically on personality. There are four basic personality types: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholy. My dominant personality type is melancholy. I am highly organized, need a plan, schedule-oriented, emotional, expressive, self-motivated (I do not respond to reward or punishment as motivation for anything), empathetic, a perfectionist (in most areas, not all), and logical. My personality can easily predict my initial behavior to less than ideal circumstances. }

With the Marine Corps comes an extreme amount of spontaneous change. It is no wonder one of their mottos is "Semper Gumby" meaning "Always Flexible."

Here is how my attitude indicator works:

My thoughts are the first area that I need to indicate during the change/adjustment because my thoughts directly affect my emotions. My thoughts prepare me for whatever action I am going to engage in.

*Are the thoughts running through my head positive or negative? *

Next, my feelings get on board with my thoughts and they make a strong alliance for what I am about to do.

* Are my feelings full of disappointment, anger, annoyance? Or are they understanding, thankful, satisfied?*

When I notice my initial thoughts are going in the wrong direction, I can choose to deliberately change them by filling them with the opposite. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) says that we demolish every pretension (claim) that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. I have the power to control my thoughts.

Knowing that I have a mind of the flesh (being a human being in this world) and a mind of the Holy Spirit (being a child of God), I know there will always be wars to fight in the attitude department. If I let my mind of the flesh lead, my unpleasant attitude will follow. If I choose to let my mind of the Spirit lead, my pleasant attitude will follow. Really, that concept cannot be more simplified, but that doesn't mean it is simple to initially grasp. Romans 8:5 (NIV) says that those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Practice makes permanence.

It is still difficult for me to let God change me. He made me how I am and how I operate for a purpose, for His purpose. (And I do some hard warfare for Him that others cannot do, just how others do warfare for Him that I could never do.) However, that does not mean He does not want me to be flexible in varying areas. Some days I learn the hard way that I will always lose to God. As God gives me more & more & more opportunities to adjust my attitude, I become a better adapter, quicker at adjusting, & I gain more balance to my life.

God's tough love to me: " You know how to change your thoughts. Stop waiting for me to ease up on a difficult situation; it won't always happen. Choose to grow. You won't be sorry."