The Response a Challenge Deserves

     Not very long ago I was looking back over the last ten years or so.  There have been many beautiful blessings in those years, but there have also been some challenging times.  I said goodbye to the last of my grandparents, we grieved the loss of my father-in-law, I said goodbye to my beloved daddy and then we said goodbye to my brother-in-law and brother.  All of their passings were tragic in one way or another and all of them were much to soon.
   I find myself in another interesting time of life.  My home is wonderfully full of people, activity, and new dreams coming to fruition.  At the same time I am closing another school year and saying goodbye to fifteen lovely mentors and their encouraging mommas.  I am saying the longest goodbye you can imagine to my mother-in-law with dementia and watching my own mom face the harsh realities of aging.
     Last night I treated myself to Andy Andrews latest book, The Noticer Returns.  I heard Andrews speak at a "Women of Faith" conference a number of years ago and I have read every one of his books since then.  I love the way he tells a story as well as the way he puts a "zinger" line in once in a while that changes me for the rest of my life.
     For the last couple of weeks I have been busy finishing up projects for school, running back and forth to the hospital to see my mom, and squeezing time in to play with my precious grandchildren.  This morning I took a few moments to sit in my beloved sanctuary, my deck, to drink a cup of coffee and start reading, The Noticer Returns.  As always, Andrews made me think.
     In the story there is a young homeless man with a chip on his shoulder.  With him is an older man that seems to resurface when the young man needs him the most.  The two are walking along a beach and take a short cut through a hotel.  The old man pushes the young man into the pool and the following conversation takes place,

     "Every single day for the rest of your life, somebody is going to push you in the pool.  And you'd better decide now how you're going to act when it happens."
     Jones squinted and leaned toward me.  "Are you gonna come out of the water whining?  Maybe crying or complaining?Will you come up mad and defiant, threatening everybody?  Will you throw your fists or worse?
     "Or will you come out of the water with a smile on your face?  Looking to see what you can learn...who you might help?  Will you act happy through you feel uncertain?"
     He stared at me for a beat or two before lowering his chin and speaking in an earnest tone.  "It's time to decide, son," he said.  "Almost every result that your life produces from this moment forward-good or bad-will depend upon how you choose.  Every day, in one form or another, whether you like it or not, you will be pushed in the pool.  You might as well decide right now how you'll act when it happens.

     I guess what struck me is that you can decide how you are going to react to challenges before they happen.  I can respond rather than react.  I have had many friends with special needs, as well as many parents of children with special needs, do this.  They have responded rather than reacted.  They haven't whined or complained, rather they have looked for something to learn and for someone to help.
     During the challenges I have faced in life, I have learned many things and I hope I have helped someone along the way.  However, planning a response to a challenge is something I never thought about.