Roy's Reflections Are you having a bad day? Walter was a sensitive child; he had grown up in the city until when he was five years old, his family moved to a farm. One day, two years later, Walter was walking through an apple orchard when he discovered, to his amazement; an owl perched on a low branch. Walter froze with fascination. Remembering that his father had told him that owls hunted at night but slept during the day, Walter crept quietly towards the sleeping bird. "What a wonderful pet this funny creature would make," he thought to himself. So, sneaking right up behind it, he silently reached up and seized it by the legs. What a shock they both were in for. Terrified, the owl went berserk. Flapping wings frantically, screeching loudly, and struggling furiously, it did everything in its power to escape. Equally terrified, Walter panicked. He clung to the bird for dear life. In utter terror, he eventually threw it to the ground and stomped it. When the struggle ended and the pounding of his heart subsided a little, Walter looked down at the broken and bloodied bird... and cried. Feeling terrible, he ran from the orchard, but later returned to bury the owl. For months he dreamed of this bird he had wanted for a pet but in terror and fear had killed. Too ashamed to tell anyone, he kept his secret to himself. Only years later did he share it. Perhaps it was this grief more than anything else that helped make Walter the person he became. Never could he bring that owl back to life but he made all the animals of the forest come alive through his drawings and the wonderful entertainment center named after himself. His full name? Walter Elias Disney. Have you ever failed or felt as if you had? Ever done something that you later felt terrible about? Or experienced a business or personal setback that gave your self-esteem a beating? Or gone through a relationship breakdown that left you feeling less than whole? Or perhaps experienced some physical hardship, handicap, sickness or mental breakdown that devastated you? If so, welcome to the human race. When we fail or feel as though we have failed, we tend to think we are the odd person out. It isn't so. Every one of us has failed at something. We have all faced setbacks at some time or another and felt as if we were going under. In fact, everyone has a story. And when it comes to doing wrong, I've committed enough sins to know that I am less than perfect. I've known what it is to struggle both financially and spiritually. And I've known times of sickness and family hardships too. I can't say that I like trouble. Neither am I a good sufferer. But this one thing I know: you and I can rise above our failures, misfortunes, and negative circumstances. Walt Disney turned his childhood nightmare into a beautiful dream, which in turn became a reality. You and I can do the same, if we want to badly enough and will persevere. Not that it comes easily. It rarely does. It didn't for Walt Disney either. History tells us he went broke seven times and had a nervous breakdown before he realized his dreams and became successful. Here are a few suggestions that can turn your bad days into good days: Accept yourself as human First, accept yourself as human. Realize that it's all right to fail and not feel good about it. It's all part of the human experience. You don't have to be perfect to be a worthwhile person. You just need to be the real you. Don't stay down Second, when you fall don't stay down. Recognize that the only real failure is not to get up one more time than you've been knocked down. So get up, determined with God's help that you are going to make something worthwhile of your life and that you are going to contribute something of value to the family of God and mankind. Learn through your experiences Third, learn through your trials and failures. Turn them into learning experiences that you can use as stepping-stones on your pathway to fulfillment and success. Problems and failures can be our greatest teachers. Learn to trust in God Fourth, learn to trust in God. Accept your disappointments as his appointments, knowing that He is seeking to use these experiences to draw you closer to Himself and to enrich and mature your life. And even if you don't feel like it, thank God for the lessons He wants to teach you through your painful situations. Don't quit Fifth, don't quit. The story is told about the famed concert pianist, Paderewski. An air of expectancy filled the crowded hall as the audience anxiously awaited the entrance of the great musician. A nine-year-old boy, impatient with waiting and fascinated by the shiny black grand piano on center stage, slipped away unnoticed from his mother and made his way to the stage. After observing the beautiful instrument in great detail, and totally oblivious to the packed house, the boy sat down on the piano bench and began to play his rendition of his most polished piece of music "Chopsticks"! At first there was deadly silence as the audience gasped in amazement. Some began to snicker. Another called out in anger; "Whose kid is that"? followed by, "Somebody get him out of here"! Backstage, Paderewski looked to see what all the commotion was about. Quickly summing up the situation, he quietly slipped alongside the boy and began to play a beautiful counter-harmony around the child's "Chopsticks" melody. "Keep playing," Paderewski whispered to the boy. "Don't stop. Play on. You're doing fine. Just don't quit!" And that's exactly what God does for each one of us when we surrender our hearts and lives to Him. He sits down beside us, no matter how traumatic our situation, and whispers, "Don't stop. Keep playing. Don't give up. I'm here beside you to help you, to encourage you, to enrich your life. Just don't quit. Trust me and I will make something beautiful out of your life." --Roy R. Boswell

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