Forecasts are unpredictable. You know this, but I’m not just talking about the weather. Life has a way of throwing us certain curve balls. We set our sights on the future, only for things to go another way completely. I certainly don’t mean to trivialize anything because sometimes life’s twists are pretty dark and heavy. Other times, they are minor annoyances and disappointments. In both instances, one thing remains the same: I can’t control it.

Life is never out of control. It’s just out of my control.

Pastor Paul David Tripp reminds us, though, that life is never really out of control; it’s just out of my control. There is still a King who rules supreme—one who’s authority has no rival. So, yeah, forecasts are unpredictable—to us. Still, in recognizing things are not within my grasp of control, my perception can make all the difference. On a day like today, when it has snowed five or so inches, there are inevitably two types of people.

“Ugh. What a mess. I hate this stuff. That freaking groundhog lied, man.”

Or, “Wow. I love this. Let’s go do some donuts.” (Mom, if you’re reading this, I’m not doing any donuts. I’m safe like that.)

And, you know which type of person you are, don’t you? How can there possibly be two drastically different responses to the same thing? Well, because it’s what you make of it. It’s always what you make of it. Today, as I was rolling snowballs into a snowman with my oldest, I thought about how easy it would have been to miss out on that moment.

I wasn’t planning on it to snow.

I have things to be doing.

It’s too cold.

I could just as easily sat inside my house, scoffing at the other snowman makers and their pish posh. And, I could have proceeded with my plans and cleared my to-do list and kept my warmth, but I would have the missed the beauty others have chosen to see. I would have missed this precious moment.

Look, it’s not always going to be snow and snowmen. Things will come our way with much heavier force and graver consequences. And, we can choose to sit back and cross our arms and scream, or we can choose to make the most of it. That doesn’t mean we will ever need to sweep our present reality under the rug, but it does mean we recognize that even in the worst of circumstances we serve the greatest God who is working all things out for my good. (And, we say, “Amen,” to that, but, gosh, how we don’t live like this!)

So, what kind of person will you be? See, that is within your control. You get to decide. Do you have the propensity to take to social media and air your grumbling and complaints rather than pause and find the beauty in the moment? If things aren’t as you were planning them to be, do you first seek to understand others or to be understood by others? Do you tend to see all the problems and none of the benefits of the unexpected?

It is what you make of it, friends. So, why are we choosing to make the least of it? So, things aren’t exactly what you thought they would be. Let’s stop using our energy to complain about it and start making the most of it!