Experienced a wonderful afternoon at the fair with the team from Sanctuary. I had the brilliant idea of leaving 35 minutes before rush hour so that I could get home with as little traffic headache as possible. Well...what should have taken about 20 minutes took 1 hour and 20 minutes! First, the entrance ramp to the highway was closed (even though the warning sign said it was closed only on "evenings and weekends" and this was clearly late afternoon...not evening). So, a detour was necessary...on a street that was also under construction and down to one lane. Well, short story long-it took me close to 45 minutes to go 1 mile. What did I do? I'd love to say that I cranked up the radio and sang worship songs to my Creator, but reality is I got angrier and angrier with each passing minute as I watched my gas gauge plummet. I pulled out the Crackberry and called everyone I could reach and complained...loudly and with much ugliness. I eventually made it home but I was useless to anyone because the anger and frustration pulsed through my veins all night long!
Second example: Wally World by my house tends to only round up carts when all 1,000 of them are in the parking lot. I waltzed out with my wallet lighter and my arms loaded down with bags only to find a line of about 75 carts blocking my car into its happy parking spot. I looked around, saw 3 cart "corral boys" standing next to another line of carts talking, laughing and having a grand time and making no effort to open the doors to the prison cell my car was held in. As I unloaded my groceries into the trunk, another shopper came by and asked if I could use some help moving the carts out of the way. What an example of Christ himself! Praise God and Hallelujuah! Together, we manhandled the carts as the "corral boys" looked on and I was able to escape while still "singing a joyous song in my heart." (Yeah - I know...hilariously mushy.) Seriously though - a situation like this could easily have put me over the edge into a state of frustration, agitation, and anger...but, I looked at the carts, the "corral boys" and my Good Samaritan and kept the calm and peace that can only be described as divine - consciously and subconsciously reflecting Him and how He would act in the same circumstance.
"Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship-a different kind of "sacrifice"-that takes place in the kitchen and workplace and on the streets." Hebrews 13:16 The Msg
I am reminded that I must "share what I have with others" and what I have is the Love of Christ. The kitchen, workplace and the streets can be the modern day Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and ends of the earth. Share what you have...and if you don't have it, let me know - I'd love to share!
1 comment:
Robyn, we have all been there, on both sides. I know how ya feel. I once snapped at a guy at Sears for taking too long to run a credit card application, that I didn't want in the first place, and snatched the app back out of his hands and ripped it up in front of him, told him he just lost a sale, and headed across the store to find someone else to help me. As I walked out I realized I had my Lifechurch backpack on. I felt HORRIBLE. I could care less what he thought about me, but if he saw that it influences his opinion on Christians and the church.
I ended up going back the next day and apologizing to the guy.
It is very hard, some times, to keep Christ as our main focus, and it is easy to slip up and loose our cool. We just have to remember to try harder next time, and remember that God's grace is enough, no matter how stupid we act he will always forgive us.
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