crazy spoiled? blessed.

Posted on 09.01.2010. Filed under: Life |

Sunday after church. Great time at the service; I was loved on and encouraged. Came home looking forward to lunch and a semi-lazy afternoon (still had a few chores to get done). Came home to a house that was hotter than normal.

Um.

“Did you change the thermostat? It feels really warm in here.” “No, I didn’t. I never touch it. But you’re right. It is hot in here.” “Let me go check it.”

Thermostat is fine – set on 75 like always. Yet the temperature at that time is 84.

Um.

Turn on the fans, pull my hair up, shorts and a tank. Sweat like crazy ‘cause it’s only getting hotter. Whine, moan, complain. Can’t sleep because I’m so hot. Go downstairs and try to sleep on the couch. Get in a few hours of not-very-good sleep. Get up and going the next morning with a raging headache from lack of sleep and the heat & humidity feeling like it’s suffocating me.

Try to find the phone number for the guy who came out last time to check out the A/C. Find six different numbers – don’t know which number to trust. Instinct tells me to call someone else. Find another company with good online reviews and one phone number. Call. This company just happens to be the one that installed the A/C, has all the info on the system, AND says that part of it is still under warranty. They come within two hours of my calling.

Turns out there is no warranty on the condenser, which needed repair. That’s ok; I was expecting to pay for the repair anyway. Repairman has parts with him and fixes the unit. Out comes my credit card and in about 24 hours, my A/C is fixed, I’m cooling off and happy again.

Then. Then I realize how incredibly spoiled I am. That’s right. I’m crazy spoiled.

spoil – verb

3. to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc.: to spoil a child by pampering him.

I whined and complained about not having a cool house for 24 hours. Twenty-four-freakin-hours. And it wasn’t even that hot. Uncomfortable, yes. But the house only got up to 90 degrees at the most. Some people, even here in Texas, the home of 100 degree+ heat, don’t have A/C at all. Their houses get up above 90 all the time. Some live without because they can’t afford it. I didn’t have enough in my bank account to cover the repair, but I did have a credit card and it’ll be paid for in a couple month’s time. That would be disastrous for some. For me? An inconvenience. I went 24 hours without A/C. Whoop-de-do.

I have a nice house, plenty of food to eat, nice clothes to wear. We can afford for our kids to play sports and have new toys for birthdays and Christmas and sometimes for just because. There are so many who don’t.

And I’m upset over not being comfortable for a few hours?

I need a change in perspective. And I think I got it. I’m praising God for the broken A/C. Because I don’t want to be crazy spoiled; I want to be blessed.

blessed – adjective

3. divinely or supremely favored; fortunate: to be blessed with a strong, healthy body; blessed with an ability to find friends.

6. bringing happiness and thankfulness: the blessed assurance of a steady income.

(definitions courtesy of dictionary.com)

How about you? To me, the difference between being spoiled and blessed is the attitude behind it. Spoiled = a sense of entitlement; blessed = a spirit of thankfulness. Are you crazy spoiled, or are you blessed?