A young girl had what some might call a bad day. An electrical storm the night before had stopped all clocks in her home for more than an hour, so when she woke to a buzzing alarm she didn't know she was already behind schedule. She dressed for school, not knowing she needed to rush.

When the family discovered the clocks were slow, they abandoned their morning routine and each one in the house scrambled to get ready for school, work or the day's duties.The family skipped breakfast together. The girl spread some jelly on a piece of bread to eat on her way down the lane to the school bus stop. Absorbed in the task of balancing her books in one hand and eating the bread, she didn't see the puddle in her path. She stepped in it and slid to the wet, muddy ground. One shoe was covered with mud. When she got up, she discovered grape jelly was smeared across the front of her new blouse.

Stunned at her mishap, she deliberated a moment about what she should do. If she returned home to change clothes, she would miss her bus. Her mother couldn't drive her to school 10 miles away because her father had already left in the family car.

She gathered her books, made a few futile swipes at her blouse and ran to get on the bus. Her clothes looked a mess, but she wouldn't miss school. She would decide what to do to about her soiled blouse and muddy shoe after she got to campus.

At another time and in another place, a person more mature in years but not in perspective also had a bad day. She, her husband and children spent a weekend in a city about 100 miles from their home. On Sunday morning, the family dressed for Church and checked out of the motel. Before they got to the meetinghouse, one of the children spilled a small container of fruit juice on the front of the mother's dress.

When her efforts to clean the dress only made the stain worse, she complained, "I can't go to Church looking like this!" Her husband suggested she change into the skirt and blouse she had worn the day before. "That's too casual to wear to Church," she replied. "It just isn't appropriate."

Her solution to her predicament was a contrast to the one made by the young student. The girl recognized that proceeding on to school, even in a soiled blouse and muddy shoe, was more important than missing the day's activities altogether. The woman, however, decided that how she looked was more important than where she went. She sat in the car while her family went to Church.

Life is full of tumbles and spills. The unforeseen happens, throwing our plans out of kilter. One sage declared, "The only thing you can expect to happen is the unexpected."

Some of the unexpected things that happen to us are monumental and significant, while others are of little importance. For example, one automobile accident might change the entire course of a person's life or the lives of loved ones. Another might result in only a small dent or scratch on the vehicle's fender. The driver who has proper perspective of the situation would not become as agitated and emotional over a dent or scratch as over a more serious accident that brings injury or death.

Yet, how we fret over life's small things! Do we, as did the student, try to make the best out of a bad situation? Or do we, as did the woman with the juice stain on her dress, let small mishaps deter us from our pursuits?

When we sing "Come, Come, Ye Saints," we would do well to notice one particular phrase that is as insightful as it is poetic:

" 'Tis better far for us to strive

Our useless cares from us to drive. . . ." (Hymns, No. 30.)

What an interesting thought: "our useless cares." By implication, some cares have substance and value, but some are not worthwhile.

It would be intriguing if scientists could devise some way to measure the amount of energy we expend on our useless cares, on those things that don't really matter in the long run. And suppose a study were done to discover how much time is spent on useless cares in the business world or in society at large. Many marriages have failed and countless close friendships have ended because of quarrels or misunderstandings over useless cares.

In the eternal scheme, our life on earth is short. Let's focus our time here, along with our energy and cares, on people, activities, pursuits and duties that really matter. We will enjoy each day much more when we abandon our useless cares.