Mean What You Say

You will rarely find me driving without an iced tea at my side. I love iced tea, and when I'm driving, it is the perfect refreshing accompaniment.

I was on a long distance drive last month which found me out in the middle of nowhere. What this means to a hard core iced tea drinker like me is NO BATHROOMS are available! :)

I got caught in some back country 'road construction' and sat at a total standstill for 15 minutes. That 15 minutes was critical in the 'schedule' I had worked out for the drive and needed 'bio breaks.'

The route I was driving is not one that I'm super familiar with. As my bladder neared 'panic' mode I tried to remember if I had any 'opportunities' before I arrived at my destination, which was still 30 miles away.

Thankfully, a fast food restaurant appeared and I was able to get some... relief!

When I got back in the car, feeling SO MUCH BETTER, I said out loud, "I don't care how long it takes me to get there now. I'm fine!"

Famous last words.

As I drove through the countryside, it appeared in front of me. A huge piece of farm equipment on the highway, driving in front of me, in the same direction that I was heading! In a 55 MPH zone, he was clipping along at about 20 MPH.

"Surely he can't be going very far," I thought to myself. We continued another mile or so.

I started to get impatient, and wondered why none of the people between me and the machine didn't pass him. I started fidgeting. Then I got more impatient. It progressed to irritation. Then it happened.

My words came echoing back to me in my head, "I don't care how long it takes me to get there now. I'm fine!"

I actually laughed out loud as I remembered what I had said 10 minutes earlier. I had already forgotten that I was filled with patience once I felt the relief of my bio break!

Why did I say that, if I didn't mean it?? Why did I so casually toss that out and then almost instantly act in a completely contrary way?

I think it was a test for me about the way I back up what I say! I didn't do very well!!

Our words and our promised are very important. I think we need to be really careful about saying things and then not following through on them. We learn to not trust ourselves when we do that.

As for me that fateful day, as I chuckled about my situation, I repeated the words again and relaxed into the 20 MPH crawl. I admired the beautiful farmland around me. As soon as I 'surrendered' guess what happened? The giant piece of farm machinery turned off the highway, and within seconds we were all cruising at 55 MPH again!

Pay attention to the words you speak - whether to other people, or to yourself. Make sure you are mindful of what you say, that you intend to DO what you say, and then follow through! Our words are powerful. Living up to them creates a life worth living!