Living Larger than Our Situations

Here's a list of signs recently sent to me from all over America. I wonder what we'll find.  

On a fence: "Salesmen welcome. Dog food is expensive!" 

In a Podiatrist's office: "Time wounds all heels." 

On a septic tank truck: Yesterday's meals on wheels. 

At a Proctologist's door: "To expedite your visit, please back in." 

At an Optometrist's office: "If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place.” 

On a Plumber's truck: "We repair what your husband fixed." 

On a church's billboard: "Seven days without God makes one weak."

At a towing company: "We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows." 

In a non-smoking area: "If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action." 

On a maternity room door: "Push. Push. Push." 

On a Taxidermist's window: "We really know our stuff." 

At a car dealership: "The best way to get back on your feet – miss a car payment." 

Outside a muffler shop: "No appointment necessary. We hear you coming." 

In a veterinarian's waiting room: "Be back in five minutes. Sit! Stay!" 

In the front yard of a funeral home: "Drive carefully. We'll wait." 

At a propane filling station: "Thank heaven for little grills." 

Sign over to a gynecologist's office: "Dr. Jones, at your cervix." 

A sign on the back of another septic tank truck: "Caution – This truck is full of political promises."

We live in a world of signs and posters. As that old song says, “Signs, Signs, Everywhere A Sign...” Comedian Bill Engvall is famous for saying, "Here's your sign.” And one of my favorite movies, Sleepless in Seattle (my wife thinks I’m crazy), builds the whole movie around the phrase, “It’s a sign!” Of course, there are street signs, stop signs, zodiac signs, contract signings, miraculous signs like Jesus' before and after Jesus' birth, signs of the times, and internal signs in us that are like the red light on our dashboards saying something needs our attention like changing oil. 

Let me share an example of a sign that shows someone who lives his life larger than their situation. This short section of an article by Anthony Amaral appeared in Arizona Highways in May 1970. 

“When asked about his injuries, cowboy Gene Kramer once said, "Why no, I've never been hurt serious. I had my head tramped on – they took five stitches. Had my nose broke. My legs have been cracked a couple of times. All my vertebrae except two have been knocked out of place. Had a couple of teeth knocked out. One time a horse stepped on my mouth, cracked all my back teeth, and I had to have twenty-seven fillings. Down in Baton Rouge, when they caved in my head, the intern who was driving the ambulance couldn't remember the way to the hospital, and I lost half my blood before we got there. Nothing serious, though. If I ever get hurt, I might quit."

Many in our culture might think Gene Kramer is stupid, careless, or reckless. But I think Gene Kramer is a sign for us. He is a red light on the dashboard indicating action. Gene Kramer knows how to live larger than his situations. Perhaps his skill of living larger than his situations and his mental toughness are more of what we need in these very soft and complacent times. People like Gene Kramer make us ponder where our inspiration and our motivation come from. Monday Morning Coffee says, “Not to knock happiness, but complacency tends to breed laziness, unless we keep ourselves aware of the issues that might truly affect us.”

John Maxwell captures my point precisely. "A valuable life skill is to be larger than the situation. When you're feeling stressed or rattled, the situation is consuming you. It feels bigger and more important than it needs to be. This is when your emotions are likely to get the best of you. But when you are larger than the situation, you can mentally “step outside and above it." Yes, there are problems to be solved. Yes, it would be best if you took action. But chaos is happening externally, and you are still internally in the driver's seat. You're in control of the moment; the moment is not in control of you."

Remember, there’s no problem until there’s a problem. Think of what is out of your control. It’s the past, the future, other people’s opinions, what others think of you, the consequences of our choices, and what the future of our nation is, etc. Now, think of what is in your control. It's our words, our thoughts, our responses, our emotions, how we treat others, and our awareness, our attitude, and our outlook. 

Do a self-assessment. Ask yourself. “Am I strong enough to live larger than my worst situation? Am I mentally tough enough to overcome what I must endure to be well again? Desire the best but be mentally prepared for the worst. To live larger than our situations, we must seek encounters that will transform us rather than affirm us. I'm writing to myself here, but if you want to join me, "Welcome.” That’s a sign.

Jesus lived larger than his situation. We need Jesus's power and guidance to live larger than the situation. That comes from God. You might ask, "Do I need Jesus to live larger than the situation? Dude, you need Jesus just to go to Walmart."