Spin is a very repeated word in politics. “It’s all about the spin,” you will say or hear. “How can we spin this?” someone will ask. “How do you think they’re (the opponent) going to spin this?” will be asked among campaign staff.
The other night, I made turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. I tossed them in cornstarch and then avocado oil, spread them out on a cookie sheet and baked at 425 for 15 minutes, took them out, flipped them, put them back in for another 15 minutes. Every recipe I read for baked sweet potato fries, they all consistently agreed a light cornstarch coating would crisp the fries, beautifully.
Not so much. At least not for the first batch. The second batch, yes. But I let them stay in the oven a little longer and opened the oven door because I read airing them out actually crisps the sweet potato fries. It’s true. It worked.
But I burned one side of them. I gave all the pretty ones I could find to Terry and when I handed him his plate of food, I said, “I’m really sorry about the fries. I’m disappointed in the outcome.”
While we were eating, I realized they would have been perfect … had I not burned half of them. Terry tossed a couple of the fries to Rusty who gobbled them up, and looked at him like, “Are you going to eat all those?”
I looked at my fries and said, “Man. I was hoping these would turn out better. I’ll keep a closer eye on them, next time, so they don’t burn.”
Terry said, “Don’t feel bad. Seriously. 33% of those of us living in this house think they’re the best thing ever eaten!”
I laughed so hard. 33%. Not that Rusty is a person, of course. But what I saw as a failure, Terry put a spin on it. He said, “I’m like Chris Traeger from Parks and Rec.” (Rob Lowe’s character who *literally* finds the good in everything!)
The spin can be our perspective. When someone is cruel to us; it says more about them than it does, us. When something bad happens, we can get excited for the good God will redeem.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28 (NIV)
You and I can look at our mistakes or the hurtful/difficult situations in our lives and trust God is going to work it out for His good. He has a proven success rate, and I trust Him. So when we mess up or find ourselves brokenhearted or dismayed, put a spin on it, and know God will use it. He will use it for your good, He will use it according to His glory, and He will use you to tell others all about it.
The enemy has plans for disaster, but God has plans for our good. He has plans for our hope and future.