This is just gonna be one of those nights where nothing spectacular comes to mind. All my usual brilliance (he said, sarcastically) has flown away for the night and all that’s left is a mild, very annoying headache. I’m not always going to be 100% on the mark all the time.

Some days, you won’t be your best. Some days, the best you can say is that you survived. You didn’t exhibit any of the fruit of the Spirit or have any of the characteristics of 1 Corithinthians 13 love. You were short with everybody, lost your temper over stupid stuff, and had an all-around majorly crappy attitude. But you survived.

And maybe, just maybe, you picked up a little more patience without realizing it. Maybe that one time you held out on your anger just a second or two longer than you normally would have. That’s a big deal, but you won’t see it at the time.

I think the key is to recognize a bad day as a bad day and keep trusting Jesus. Most importantly, remember that tomorrow will be a clean slate and a d0-over. Because Jesus is all about second chances.

So give yourself permission to fail big and stick around. Keep smiling. Know that God is using days like this to make you more like Jesus. That’s reason enough to smile, isn’t it?

Amen and amen.