Evotional.com - Mark Batterson

I just got invited to partcipate in a book project called The Best Advice I ever Got. I have no idea why they contacted me. It's a veritable Who's Who list of successful people--athletes, politicians, businessmen, entertainers, and authors. I'm definitely lowering the bar, but I love the concept. They are asking people who are successful in a variety of fields to share the best advice they ever got. Isn't that a cool concept?

I have to admit it was really hard to narrow it down to one. I thought about one of my professors in college who said something I'll never forget: catch people doing things right. I thought about Clark Griswold's advice in Christmas Vacation: do it right and do it big. I thought about my favorite philosopher, Jack Handy, who said: if you drop your keys in a river of molten lava let 'em go man 'cause they're gone. And I thought about quoting Qui Gon who said, "Your focus determines your reality."

But I decided to go with some advice I got from a bottle cap.

The Best Advice I Ever Got

I've gotten lots of great advice over the years, but the most unique was a life-changing bottle cap. I was drinking a Nantucket Nectar one day and the saying on the bottle cap became a personal mantra: if everyday was a good day there would be no good days.

Not bad for a bottle cap! All of us want every day to be a good day, but if every day was a good day there would be no good days because there wouldn't be any bad days with which to compare the good days to. It's the bad days that help us appreciate the good days! Sickness helps us appreciate health. Failure helps us appreciate success. Debt helps us appreciate wealth. And the tough times help us appreciate the good times.

God can even turn our worst day into our best day.

July 23, 2000 was the worst day of my life. My intestines ruptured and I should have died. I lost twenty-five pounds in one week. I spent two days on a respirator. And I have an eighteen-inch scar on my abdomen. It was the worst day of my life, but I can honestly say that it is the best day of my life as well. I wouldn't trade the lessons I've learned from that experience for anything in the world. I have an intense appreciation for life that few people can comprehend.

Here is what I know for sure: God is in the recycling business. He takes our pain and uses it for someone else's gain. That is precisely what Christ did on the cross.

So whether you're having a good day or a bad day, remind yourself that God is God and God is good.