A Challenge: Refuse to Shut Down

Three minutes. That’s how long it usually takes for my husband and I to drive from our house to post. Today, however, it took us over an hour to get my husband, who’s an officer in the Army, to work. Traffic was backed up for miles to enter the main gate because so many other gates were closed due to the government shutdown.

Inconvenience. So far, the government shutdown only affects me by inconvenience. But I realize that for others, it can have much scarier effects. Some people can’t work. Some people aren’t being paid. And because of that, those people may be tempted to shut down themselves.

But instead, I’d like to challenge you the way Sara Horn did in her post, “Shut Down, or Show Up?”

She says, “Just because they shut down, doesn’t mean we have to.”

I challenge you. Don’t let this shutdown shut you down. Each day is your choice. You can choose to be joyful, to have a good attitude, to act out patience and kindness.

Here’s my challenge. You can do one of these things. Or you can do one each day. Or you can do all of them. I challenge you:

• To let a driver in front of you as you wait to go through the main gate.
• To pray for those who can’t work because of this shutdown.
• To let someone else have the last bag of apples on the last day the commissary will be open.
• To make a meal or small gift for someone who is affected by this shutdown.
• To give someone a compliment.
• To smile at strangers.

You’re only one person. But while we wait for normalcy, one person can make a difference. Good attitudes are contagious. So is kindness. Use them. And refuse to shut down.

Do you have other ideas for how we can refuse to shut down?