Consistency: It Counts

I kind of have decided to pick a theme and blog about it three or four times before moving on to a new topic. Today's consistency point is that it makes a difference.

Just watched the Eagles win their opener over the Redskins. The Redskins had a big lead, the Eagles made some adjustments at the half, and took the game. The Redskins became inconsistent despite flashes of breaking the game open. They couldn't capitalize on the lead. Game over. It helped to have Desean Jackson back as a deep threat.  Chip Kelly took a well-deserved beating on Twitter for releasing him from the Eagles about half a decade ago or so. He started to believe like Enron that he was the smartest guy in the room. He imploded in the NFL and is now doing it in college coaching. 

To apply the consistency idea to another specific area, this summer I had my car AC and my home window AC go on the fritz at the same time. I decided to fix neither. I am not a big fan of AC in cars unless it is beastly hot. And it was at times this summer. But, with the windows down, the sunroof open, and the car moving, the breeze keeps the car cool enough. It only gets bad when stuck in traffic and for other reasons being stopped. I figure if my almost 200K Honda Civic can make it through the winter, I might pony up the $500 to get it fixed. I just don't understand how we spend all winter trying to get warm and all summer trying to get cool in the extremes.

My home AC is a window unit. I cleaned it for the first time this summer after having it for 7 or 8 years. The dust and lint screen was dark and furry. Pretty gross. I think all of the particulars effed up the controls which no longer work. I was going to pitch the unit and get a new one. I decided to give it one last shot and I took it out of the window and drained all of the water from inside of the unit that wasn't draining as it should have been. I turned the AC sideways in my bathtub and removed about 12 ounces of water from it. I plugged it back-in a voila! It started. The controls still don't work so I kept it running 24-7 from July 2 until a few days ago when the weather started to cool.

I wasn't sure if I unplugged the unit if it would start again so I wanted to wait until it was no longer 90 plus degrees outside. While I don't consider having AC in my car a necessity, it is a must for my to sleep well at night in my second floor bedroom. I don't like leaving Shroud of Turin like sweat-stains of my body on the sheets.  Before the controls to the AC completely fried-out, I was  able to get it to start and stop when it reached a certain temp. But, that became problematic as it was waking me up when it kicked in. I think my sleep is become more sensitive as I age.

So, all summer the AC has been defaulting to the 74 degree pre-set, full blast, 24-7. Even when I left town for weekends, I decided to keep it running as I wasn't sure if it would start up again. The other day I was relieved that when I unplugged it, it started again.  Here is the irony of it all...my electric bill only went up 10-15 dollars for July and August, even with the AC on high and the energy saving turn off not operational.  I was kind of expecting a giant bill and had my fingers crossed only to find that the AC performed well despite being on all of the time. In fact, I think it perhaps was more efficient because of it because it takes a lot of energy to start equipment. Who knows how long it will run from here or start next summer. I am in bonus time so it is all a win. There is still some snow to sled coolness wise with it being operational.

I have a saying that it is better to be consistently good rather than occasionally great. I have known people who are extraordinarily good thinkers on their feet. They rise to the occasion and pull stuff out of the fire whereas if it had been me, the barbecue of circumstances would have charred my bird of opportunity. Yet, I have pondered the fact that these individuals are often poor-planners; that is, their problem-solving, rather than be avoidance and preventative, is more often reactive and rescuing. Which they would not be in had they planned better. Clean-up is costly and time-consuming.

Because my strong suit is not reaction in terms of problem-solving, I do a lot of work to ensure that I control what I can without becoming a controlling person. I try to hold the reigns loosely but prepare ahead for the trip. Thus, I am rarely having to bring out the big guns to kill big problems. I deal with things in a process and follow a strategy of taking tasks in steps. It is funny to see a weakness become a strength and a strength become a weakness in people. I can be spontaneous because I usually know the cards I am holding. I don't have to pray from a good draw from the deck to save the day.

Jesus speaks of keeping our hand to the plow. Plowing a field is hard and tedious work no doubt. But, being consistent and careful was and is quite important. Learning lessons and not looking back is also an important principle he speaks about in the same verses. When hard times hit, it is remember that despite what our circumstance might be screaming--that God no longer loves us--we can rest assured that we are loved in Christ by the Father.  We should learn the lessons that hard times teach us and perhaps amend our bad ways of addressing such things and have a fairly ruthless honesty about how we played a role in our adversities to one degree or another. And if not, accept that life often just lashes out and we are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Pick up the pieces and move on as best we can. Wipe the tears, face the field ahead, and keep plowing.