Refill with Randy – Attitude is Everything!

By Randy LeBaron

Attitude is everything! This past Sunday I began preaching a sermon series about the first part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, commonly referred to as The Beatitudes, and I shared that if we want to change our habits we must first change our mindset. Subsequently, if we want to change the way we think we must first change our attitude.

Think about it. Too often we simply wait to see how things go in any given situation before we know how we will feel or respond. However, if instead of simply reacting to our circumstances or allowing the actions of others to decide our mood, we have the power to predetermine how we will act based on our own values.

Chuck Swindoll has famously said, “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.”

I can personally attest to the truth behind these words having learned from personal experience, often the hard way. One such time was back in 2001 when I went on my first overseas missions’ trip to the Dominican Republic. To say that my first experience with culture shock did not start off well is an understatement. After having the original trip leader step down I accepted the role of co-leader with another pastor not long before the trip was supposed to take place. Neither of us had ever been on, let alone, led a trip like this before and we had a group made up of 25 people had hadn’t either, talk about having the blind lead the blind. I should also note that the trip took place in November, just two short months after the terrorist attack on 9/11, so there was a certain level of anxiety associated with traveling by airplane.

Jumping ahead to our departure date, we actually took a bus to Toronto the evening prior assuming that between the border crossing and going through TSA with such a large group that it would be quite a delay. Ironically, we flew right through both which meant that we just sat around the airport all night with nothing to do and nowhere to sleep. Come morning we boarded the plane, I was seated between two strangers of course, and then proceeded to sit on the runway for nearly 2 hours before taking off.

After being squished all the way to Santo Domingo I was excited to exit the plane until I stepped out into the airport and found it filled with cigarette smoke and people trying to take our bags. One thing it did not have was air conditioning, which may not seem too bad since the ground was covered with snow when we left home but the problem was that it was very hot and everyone in the airport was sweaty and more than a little stinky.

By the time we had exchanged money, and found where we were supposed to wait for our ride, I was overheated, dehydrated, and had a splitting headache. After a while an old van that would fit 15-18 comfortably rolled up and we did our best to squeeze in for a long trek to where we would be staying. Did I mention that at least a half dozen men also rode with us playing a guiro, imagine a metal hair pick being dragged across what looked like a cheese grater, and singing.

By the time we arrived at our quarters it was too late to unpack so we went straight to the church where we would be participating in a worship service. By this time my headache was through the roof and I could add hunger and exhaustion to my growing list of complaints. Once again, I anticipated some relief when the van came to a stop but no sooner had I stepped out to stretch my legs when a young man motioned for me to get into his compact car and before I knew it we were off.

It happened so fast that I did not fully consider how problematic the situation was. I spoke very little Spanish and he spoke no English. I had no idea who he was, where we were going, or what we were doing. To make matters worse it was pitch black out when we finally stopped at a small village and apparently the electric had gone out there as well. The driver jumped out and I tried my best to keep up for fear of losing him and not being able to find my way back.

Thankfully, as it turned out, we were just picking up food for a meal we would be having together after the church service and we made it back just fine. The service, which we were told was supposed to start soon, began almost 2 hrs. later once the local congregation had arrived and after a lengthy time of worship we ate something on a spit, I am pretty sure it was goat, and then went back to take a very cold shower and get ready for bed.

I was not a happy camper, to say the least, and I was not alone. A man from my church was also grumbling and once we started feeding off one another we were fully ready to call it quits and head back home. And that was when we realized that our circumstances were not likely to change but our attitudes had to if we were going to be able to accomplish what we had come there for in the first place. And so we prayed.

The next morning was a new day, a fresh start, and we both approached it with a new mindset. I can honestly say that that trip turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life and it wasn’t because everything went smoothly after that. We had days when our supplies didn’t show up, times when our tools were useless because the electric went out at least a few times each day, lots of piling into, and onto, vehicles and then waiting forever in traffic because there were no signs or stop lights. I had a first-time translator when preaching on Sunday which was difficult enough but was then made even worse when a goat and pig kept wandering in and out of the half-built church. I threw my back out bending rebar and if course there was Black Wednesday, the night everyone fighting for the bathroom thanks to food poisoning.

No, it was not smooth sailing but the work that was done, the lives that were touched, the relationships formed, and the ministry that took place made it all worth it and by simply praying for a better attitude I was able to enjoy every bit of it. Friends, I pray that whatever comes your way that instead of reacting to it you will be able to adjust your attitude and act accordingly.

See you in 2 weeks…

Pastor Randy