Minor Irritations

As we go through our day, we are often faced with things that irritate or annoy us.

Someone steals our parking spot
Washing the dishes
McDonald's messed up our order
We spill our drink
We lose our keys again
We lock ourselves out of the apartment/house
We get a flat
Shoveling Snow

These are all things that can annoy us and make our day sad if we let them.

Tonight after work I went to get my jacket only to discover that it was missing. That in itself is not a problem. Don't misunderstand me, I like the coat, but I rarely form attachments to articles to things. However, my keys were in the jacket pocket. Having no keys meant that I would have no transportation home. Did I mention it was cold? It was freezing. It was irritating because I had to call my husband and have him bring another set of keys.

I was irritated until I put the situation in perspective.

The fact that my keys were missing means I have a car. Some people do not have that luxury.
I am blessed to have more than one jacket. Some people do not even have one coat.
I live close enough to work that I could walk.
It was cold, but it was not raining or snowing.

The situation could have been worse.

It's all in how we choose to look at the annoyances.

If I have to go to work, I can praise God I have a job
If someone cuts me off in traffic, I can thank God that I have a car.
If I lock myself out of the house, I can praise God I have a place to stay.
If I spill my drink, I can praise God that had something to drink.
As I'm cleaning, I can praise God I have a house.
When you see that person who irritates you, you can be thankful that you can still see and recognize people.
When you have to walk from the far end of the parking lot, be grateful that you can walk. I know many who would love to be able to walk.

Annoyances and irritations are bound to happen, but we can choose to see the positive in then and thank God in the midst of them.

Comments

Live Fearlessly

As I was driving home today, I passed a person walking on the side of the road. Since it was cold, and snowy, I thought I should stop and offer the person a ride. As I drove on by, I was irritated with myself for not stopping. I could have and should have but I didn't. Why? I was scared! Maybe that wouldn't bother you, but I'm willing to bet there are things that make you afraid. It may be snakes or spiders that send the ticker into overdrive. Or maybe it's your job and finances that keep you up at night when you should be resting. Then again perhaps it's relationships that consume your thoughts and energy. As followers of God, we know that we are told not to be afraid. Yet we often are afraid despite everything we know. As I was driving away from a missed opportunity, I began thinking about what it is that makes us afraid. I honestly am not sure what it is that causes us to be afraid when we should be bold, but I

Tragedy: A Christian Response

I want to start by telling you a story. We were new parents. When Our oldest, a son, was about eighteen to twenty months we had another baby, a girl with brown hair and huge eyes. One day as I went to feed her, my son who may have been two at the time wandered off to another part of the house. The next thing I heard was a thud. I grabbed my baby girl and ran to see what happened. There was my son with a table on top of him. He had pulled it over on himself and more blood than I had ever seen was running all over. We put him in the car and dashed for the ER. It was not a fun trip. He had a skull fracture and many stitches. Fast forward about fourteen or fifteen years, I’m at a stop light and watch my youngest daughter about ten start across a street on a bike start across a street just as a truck comes around a corner into the path of the bike. She hit the side of the truck and bounced onto the road. I grabbed her up and checked her over there were no injuries, but

Just A Word of Praise!!

On Sunday, after church, we went to a town about thirty minutes away. On the way we drove through an area where they were working on the road. It was no big deal. We had lunch, bought some food for the week, and drove back home. Later, as we were on our way to church for the evening service, I heard the ominous flapping sound that a tire makes when it’s flat. Yikes! I pulled over and while I was debating how I was going to change a tire. A car coming in the opposite direction drove by and stopped. As the driver appeared from the vehicle, I recognized him as a neighbor and fellow believer. He approached the car, and asked if I had an air compressor to inflate the tire. My answer, “Yes, but I’m not sure how good it is. I’ve never actually managed to inflate a tire using it. I may not be using it properly.” I produced it from the trunk of the car and handed it to him. Within a few minutes, he had it hooked up and running. As it turned out, I was using it properly,

Inspirations

Search This Blog