“Be careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity . . .” – Ephesians 5:15-16
Mike and Kent were two brawny college boys who I would hire from time to time when I needed some work done requiring some muscle on the small ranch we owned for many years. Both were strong, industrious, ambitious, and hard-working. Mike, the more alpha of the two, never saw a job he wouldn’t tackle. His standard response to anything I asked them to do was, “Yeah, we can do that.” Kent, on the other hand, tended to be a bit more reserved and realistic. Yet, even he could hardly resist his buddy’s can-do spirit.
The story was told that when these two were young teenagers barely old enough to drive they were offered a job hauling away an old upright piano from someone’s home. As compensation the piano would be theirs to dispose of as they pleased. The boys, of course, saw dollar signs expecting they could sell it for a couple hundred bucks. So, they loaded the piano on a flatbed trailer hitched behind a pickup truck borrowed from one of their dads and off they went with Mike at the wheel. All went well until Mike rounded a curve a little too fast, slinging the old upright off the trailer into the middle of the highway where it smashed into a million pieces. Kent, staring at the wreckage, then looking despairingly toward his partner said, “What are we going to do Mike?” Undaunted, Mike assured him, “Don’t worry, Kent. We can fix it!” Of course, they had about as much chance putting Humpty-Dumpty back together as that old piano.
Some people see problems while others see opportunities. While some can only see the doom and gloom of a moment, there are those who look for ways to do good, to help others, and to create something new and better. Mike may at times be a bit overly optimistic about his abilities, but you’ve got to give him credit for his attitude. And as his side-kick Kent would likely attest, that can-do spirit can be infectious. Every disruption, regardless how dark and severe, creates new opportunities. And just as the COVID pandemic has placed a black cloud of historic magnitude over us all, isn’t it refreshing to know there are people like Mike out there who are constantly in search of opportunities in the midst of the storm? “Be careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity . . .”