More on Mindsets

Tuesday night Pete was on his way to bed when he noticed a light had been left on in the basement. Muttering to himself, he went down the stairs - and saw a flood pouring out of the furnace room into the carpeted area! It had just started, so he raced up, gathered the big boys and started supervising a massive effort to stop the leak, get the sump pump working again, and mop up the water. After multiple towels were soaked and the boys had put the wet-dry vac to good use, they finally got to bed around midnight.

Today they are disinfecting the carpet pad with a very strong product and cleaning the carpet with the Rug Doctor, and hope that will be the end of it. We've had fans and heaters running constantly.

What struck me, though, was Pete's determination to save the carpet and belief that he could. Many people would have thrown up their hands and resigned themselves to a new carpet - or if they couldn't afford it, a linoleum floor once again. Not he! And he will succeed.

Pete experienced major back trouble 10 years ago; he lay in bed for 2 weeks and then had spasms when he sneezed or moved wrong. When he finally recovered sufficiently to work, he searched for exercises he could do to strengthen his back. He just knew there was something that would work for him, and he visited a doctor, a physical therapist, a chiropractor and I don't know who else - but sure enough, from one or a combination of these professionals, a weight-lifting program emerged that Pete followed rigorously until his back became strong. Now he can jump off a truck or lift cases - or sneeze - without problems, and continues to lift weights on a maintenance program. How many folks would have given up and resigned themselves to a bad back for life?

I remember a friend who lived in Bangladesh telling how some people there don't look before they cross the busy highway. They have such a fatalistic mindset that they figure it doesn't matter what they do; God's will determines whether they live or die today. Could that be one reason Bangladesh is consistently one of the poorest countries in the world?

I wish I knew how to change people's mindsets, because I'm convinced that if more people had a "can do" attitude, there would be a lot fewer long-term problems in this world. Thanks be to God that He can change our minds!