Builds Character...

Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite cartoon of all time (ranks just barely ahead of The Far Side). In several of the cartoons, Calvin's dad has his son doing some sort of job (like shoveling snow, picking up firewood for the campfire, etc.), and as Calvin grumbles under his breath, his dad can be heard to be saying "It builds character!" In one of these strips, Calvin is found in the last panel saying "Nothing spoils fun like finding out it builds character." :o)

Over the weekend, we've been dealing with sickness. It all started on Thursday, July 14, when my son, S, was "sharing" everything he had just eaten. Then LeAnn got the same stomach virus. Then I got it (which I wrote about in Pet Peeve #3). And then, while my brother and his family were visiting for the weekend from Omaha, my oldest daughter, K, got it, and then one of my nieces got it!

But it doesn't stop! My other daughter, M, is now battling a fever and complaining of a hurt stomach (thankfully no violent visits to the toilet!), and now LeAnn seems to be battling something again! I'm sick of sickness!

Well, I realized just how "sick" I was when I found myself today speaking sharper than normal at my children and carrying a hard heart inside. On the outside, I was doing most everything "right", but I didn't want to be playing doctor - I wanted to spend MY time in MY own way (especially on MY day off!). As I was mowing the lawn after "punishing" my children by making them pick up sticks in the yard in the hot humid weather, I realized I was facing a "character building moment."

What do you do when you face a moment like that? Keep harboring the bad attitude? Find an escape through food, dreams, addictions, or something else? Figure out a justification for your behavior and attitude? Or humble yourself before God and others and seek forgiveness?

I didn't want to have to apologize to my kids for some of my actions and words, but I did. And I asked God for forgiveness. My wife really needed me today, and she needed me without the bad attitude. And if my hero Jesus could set aside his rights as God to come to earth and take on the form of a servant (Phillipians 2), then I needed to follow the pattern, humble myself, lay aside my rights to my time and plans, and serve my family.

If you want to read a great book on character and becoming a servant like Jesus, I highly recommend Uprising. But don't read it if you don't want to "build character". ;o) As today proved, that is a very humbling and sometimes difficult thing!