Sometimes the best reaction to something is no reaction at all, to not get worked up one way or the other. 

Now, of course, there are times when a quick reaction to something is required.

When you are told of a horrible accident, you react right away with emotion that fits the situation. If someone falls down, you react quickly to help them up.

A few years ago while I was playing hockey, one of the guys went down around the net. By the way he fell down everyone could tell this was no trip or fall. The guys immediately poured off the bench and went to his aid. 

He was having a heart attack and you should have seen the reaction – it was instantaneous. Guys started working on him immediately, others went looking for the defibrillator paddles. Someone grabbed a phone to call 911. 

That was a visible, quick reaction … but there are times you can’t tell someone’s reaction.

During covid when everyone was wearing masks, it was really hard to determine reactions when talking to people. You had to look at their eyes to see if possibly there was a smile behind the mask. It was very difficult to tell.

I wonder if during this time people were less funny or less dramatic because they couldn’t tell another person’s reaction to them.

Then there is something that always causes a reaction but should never produce a desire in us to react: weather forecasts. 

Weather people are trained to give us the information to get a reaction.

These people want us reacting to good weather like we just scored a goal, high-fiving everyone around. They want us to be down in the dumps if the weather is not going to be very good.

They want us in a puddle of despondency over a forecast of rain and high winds for the next seven days. 

But really, the best way to react to the weather forecast – on TV or an app or on your phone – is to just have no reaction.

They are wrong so often it not worth the effort to react one way or the other. You get yourself all excited or all upset for probably nothing. 

This week our daughter and her husband were planning to come to our cottage for a couple of days. 

My wife, Lily, checked her weather app to plan our time together. The forecast was for rain the whole time they were scheduled to be here. 

Lily was immediately disappointed. My response was, “Don’t worry about it; just wait.” 

Sure enough, there was no rain that night and we woke up the next day to sunshine and warm temperatures. 

If the weather people knew we were not reacting to their weather information maybe they would stop trying to play with our emotions and just focus on getting their weather predictions correct.

Here’s the thing: When something bad happens in our lives, we are quick to look for who to blame. A lot of the times God gets the blame. We ask God a lot of “why” questions, with a whiny, “poor me” attitude. Don’t be quick to react to the bad things in your life. Take them in stride, take them to God and allow Him to inform your reaction. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you been reacting to lately that you shouldn’t? Leave your comments and questions below.

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