You Get What You Get and You Don't Pitch a Fit

Today I witnessed adults doing what I wanted to do 11 years ago--stomp where God put them. The thing I found interesting about the situation is that lots of elementary school teachers have a favorite saying, "You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit." I am not saying that all situations God allows us to go through are pleasant, actually some are very unpleasant and others are just plain painful. The adults that I witnessed today were upset, rightfully so. It was expected. The thing that struck me as I sat listening to them vent was that they were actually pitching a fit because they are being required to do something that they don't understand or agree with. Being upset is understandable; pitching a fit is unacceptable.

 
 

During the course of the conversation one of them actually told one of their children, "Suck it up. You are pitching a fit because you are not getting what you want and I don't want to hear it." I almost fell over when I heard that come out of this person's mouth. Really, come on. It made me realize the need to examine the way I handle the situations that God allows to come into my life. I have some questions that I am asking myself from now on when I find myself in painful situations.

1. Am I holding others to a higher standard than I am holding myself?
   
2. Do I expect more respect than I am willing to give?
   
3. How do others see me in this situation?
   
4. Are there others around me who are having more serious problems than me and are my actions an offense to them?
   

Maybe you might want to ask those same questions of yourself when you find yourself feeling misunderstood, mistreated, and disrespected. Most of the time our attitude is what makes a difficult situation difficult.