Yesterday, the fuel pump on my Suburban gave out on the highway right before the exit to my home. I was able to maneuver the car to safety, get it re-started, and get back to my house. I was then able to drive the car about half a mile to my mechanic for further repair.

When I got the call from him to tell me the damage report and the cost to fix it, I was unhappy. I hate cars, sometimes. Once you get them all paid off, they seem to have a way to keep coming back and biting you for more!

However, after a brief pause, I realized how lucky I truly was. I had driven that car to Sea-Tac airport and back the day before to pick up my daughter. Our trip back from the airport was around midnight. That very day, I had driven to a meeting about 45 minutes away and back. Tomorrow, the plan was to take that car to Spokane (6 hour drive over the mountain pass) with my wife for the conference I’m speaking at.

That fuel pump could have decided to go out on the Tacoma Narrows bridge at midnight; the highway 35 miles away from home; or an hour out of Spokane in the very rural part of Eastern Washington. The absolute best possible scenario happened.

Bad things happen all the time to us. How we respond will determine how we live our life daily. We can choose to be cynical, jaded, negative, and depressed or we can consider ourselves fortunate to be breathing in and out while living on a planet hurtling in space around a fiery star.

Which do you choose?

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