Think Twice, Act Once

A few nights ago as I was getting ready for bed, my friend texted me and asked if I was going to help out with a service babysitting opportunity. Without a second thought, I replied that I wasn't planning on it. I'd helped out in this sort of service experience before, and I didn't want to do it again. But somehow she ended up talking me into helping her, and so I reluctantly agreed.

She reminded me the day of, and so when it was time I headed over to where we were supposed to be and got ready to help out. I started off with the wrong attitude. At first all that I would do was finish eating my dinner and sing along to the songs we were playing. Then the two kids we were watching started playing tag. They were so cute and fun, it was hard not to get involved in the game. Within moments, we were all laughing and chasing each other, running around, and having a great time.

As we wound the energy down, we all settled in a circle to tell stories. It was fun with a lot of input from the listeners, and that made the story take funny twists and turns. Soon we were all laughing really hard. I was surprised to find myself disappointed when the whole thing was over.

If I hadn't thought about how uninvolved I was being and decided to change my attitude, I would have been a huge negative for those little kids we were watching. Life is this way a lot. If we start thinking about something in a certain way, it's hard to change perspective. But if we don't think about it first, nothing good is ever going to come of our bad attitude. It just doesn't work that way. I know from experience that once your mind is set on things being one way instead of another, it is very difficult to realize things are really different. That night, I learned that it is important to assess our thoughts so that when we finally act on them, we can do positive things.

God knows that we make mistakes, but He gave us the opportunity to think about our actions and make changes. I am so thankful for that! He sent His son to atone for our mistakes, so that we can turn our bad choices around and repent. This I know for certain. I love my Heavenly Father will all my heart.