I used to pole vault over mouse turds…
I bet you are wondering where that came from?!
Years ago during an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting I heard someone use the phrase above. Â In other words the person had a propensity of making mountains out of mole hills and/or going out of his or her way to avoid dealing with life on life’s terms;Â two of the many by-products of fear.
Most of my blogs these days are focused on assisting the reader with personal leadership development and a key to personal leadership is having the ability to keep things in perspective. This involves remaining calm in the midst of storms, challenges, and controversies or remaining grounded in the middle of a wave of positives.
This blog thought came to me on Monday afternoon as I sent out a prayer request for Hunter Heck and his family, and then turned on the T.V. to get an update on the most devastating storm the east coast of our great country has ever encountered.
How many of us face a minor problem and turn it into something major? This type of behavior is referred to as “majoring in minors.”  It’s as if we always need something to either celebrate, complain about, fret about or “pole vault” over.
The devil loves for us to turn mole hills into mountains as it takes our focus off of all the beautiful things (i.e. God) we have going on in our lives.
The easiest way to overcome petty “mouse turds” is to turn them over to God and let Him deal with them. For some this is not easy because living in a crisis has become the “new normal” and God will only prevail in a crisis if we are willing to get out of the way…faith and fear cannot co-exist.
A tool I was given many years ago because of my great “pole vaulting” abilities was a gratitude list.
I was advised to create a list of things I should be grateful for in order to take my mind off of all the minors I was majoring in. Creating a gratitude list is a great way to keep things in perspective.
In the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) community, November is gratitude month and I will devote my blogs in November to gratitude.
“No matter how ‘dark’ your darkness is, there is someone else experiencing a darker darkness. Be grateful for the light that makes your darkness a little less and use that light, no matter how dim, to lighten others’ darkness.”
P.E.A.C.E.
Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (ESV)
Please continue to pray for Hunter Heck as he fights off a serious infection due to his injuries.
