I Love Jesus, and I Need to Work on My Attitude

My husband and I were on a three-week trip this summer, so we missed being at our home church for three weeks. It was great seeing everyone when we got back to church, but my Pastor’s message on our first Sunday home was a tough one.

I was convicted about my attitude. I think I’m usually a “half glass full” kind of person, but as I was thinking about some of my actions on vacation, I was convicted about having a poor attitude at times.

Let me give you an example. For some of the time on our trip, the weather was extremely hot. While we were in Greece there were wildfires breaking out, and people in Italy kept saying how the heat was out of the norm for them. Now, people kept referring to the temperature in Celsius, so it was hard for me to convert it, but when I did, there were days where the Fahrenheit temperature was around 110 degrees! That with the humidity made exploring various towns and cities challenging!

I layered on the sunscreen, wore my visor, stayed hydrated, chose light colored clothing, but I should have layered on some positivity. Some prayer would have helped as well!

When we were in Naples, Italy, we went to Pompeii, and it was close to a hundred degrees that day. Seeing Pompeii was amazing and a bit emotional, knowing how many people were killed there due to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. That day, we walked a lot, like over 20,000 steps, close to nine miles.

By the time it was later afternoon, it was time to head back to the cruise ship, and my husband wanted to try the Margherita pizza in Naples as that is what they’re known for, but we couldn’t find a pizzeria anywhere close to the dock. So we walked and walked and walked, and I was hot, tired, dirty, sweaty, and grumpy. By the time we found a place and sat down to eat the pizza, I was not good company to be around. My poor husband! He wanted to talk about the pizza, but he knows me well enough when it’s best just to let me be, and he did.

But what a waste! I wasted a beautiful moment with him being upset about things he couldn’t control and I couldn’t control! I wasted energy being angry at the heat and angry at my feet for hurting and angry at my husband for no good reason!

Looking back, I’m really ashamed of myself. I really should have taken control of my attitude and my negative thoughts and refocused myself! I should have asked God for help! That’s what my pastor talked about on Sunday. One verse he mentioned was 2 Corinthians 10:5 that says, “. . . and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

I had so much to be thankful for! I was sitting outside at a lovely pizzeria in Naples, Italy, with the man I love, eating some of the best pizza I have ever had, and I ruined it!

I’m not going to say that I won’t ever be grumpy again, and I’m not going to say that I won’t struggle again with negative thoughts, but I am going to try to learn from this day in Naples.

Here’s a picture of the amazing pizza I should have enjoyed more!

Thank you, friends, for letting me be transparent with you, and thank you for helping me be accountable.

Love,

Julie