I've Been Robbed

Borrowed From WBGL Tim and Pam In The Morning Show......it describes what I'm feeling right now.

I've Been Robbed

I was robbed during the morning show today.

I was happily minding my own business when, within a matter of seconds, it was gone. It wasn't my wallet - though there's not much money in it anyway. It wasn't my car - though my 2004 Subaru isn't exactly "theft" material. It wasn't even my identity - that was stolen last year.It was my joy. An online conversation with a frustrated listener grabbed it and took off down the street. As you might imagine, it left me in a rather rotten mood. Okay, a very rotten mood.

This listener (a pastor, of all people) was mad that he hadn't received a response to a recent email that he had sent to me, and quickly began threatening to switch his allegiances to another radio station (and speak poorly of me to others) if I didn't get back with him in a timely manner.This instant message exchange took less than five minutes, but it has left a long-lasting impression. As an employee who takes pride in my work ethic, the implication that I wasn't doing my job very well cut deep.

Between Facebook, Twitter, and email...our show receives literally hundreds of messages every week. Many radio personalities respond to very few (if any) of their messages, and (though I'm not perfect) I try very hard to do exactly the opposite.But, this isn't really about email or Facebook or even a frustrated listener. It's about me and my willingness to let someone else's actions effect my entire day.

You may have heard this phrase before: "You can't control what others say or do to you, you can only control how you react to it." It's true. But, let's be honest...that's much easier said than done, right? I certainly don't have it all figured out yet. In fact, five hours later, I'm STILL trying to get my joy back. I have a beautiful wife, two amazing boys, a job that I love, and a free weekend in front of me...and (because of a stupid disagreement) my joy is still hard to find today.

Been there?If so, maybe you can work through this with me: my identity, my worth, and my value are NOT found in other people's opinions or actions. Technically, they're not found in my wife, kids, job, or lack of weekend activities either. God alone gives me my value. The rest is trivial.

Today, I've had it backward.

Thankfully, tomorrow, I have a chance to get it right. At least I don't have any plans.