No good deed goes unpunished....that's the old saying anyway, right? On the surface, a good deed I did this morning seemed to live up to the old adage. But God.....
My husband isn't feeling so good today, so I decided that I would run to the corner store and pick up his newspapers so he wouldn't have to go out. Nice wife, right. LOL So, off I go on my errand of kindness. The morning was bright with sunshine, and damp with dew on the car windows. Of course I would never actually take the time to wipe them off....nope, not me. Instead, I did what any normal, rushed person would do. I rolled the windows down via the push button electric window open/closer thingy. And yes, you guessed one of my back windows decided that going back up was not an option! I now have a half open window in the backseat of my car. Lucky me !!
Normally this would just be a minor annoyance, but I have to do quite a bit of driving today. Hmmmm, not the best timing. So of course, my first initial reaction....."Oh great. Just great Lord! Why does this stuff always happen to me at the most inopportune moments! This is the pits....." You get the picture. And then I stopped. Right there, right then....just stopped that well worn path of thinking in my brain. I changed direction. I said, "Okay Lord. You are still good. I trust You." Now, I felt none of that. My emotions were still in turmoil. But onward with my mission of mercy I went, determined not to complain.
So here's the great part....By the time I got out of the store with the papers, I felt at peace. My emotions had caught up with my determination and I could honestly praise the Lord and know that this was not something to lose my peace over. A verse I heard yesterday comes to mind. 1 Peter 3:11 Search for peace and work to maintain it. It felt so much better to not be all riled up inside, all agitated and upset....God visit! I could either let this little blip of a problem color the day with anger and annoyance or I could continue to let God paint His joyful version of this day in my life. I'm opting for the latter! It's amazing how the Lord was turning this "problem" into an amazing blessing and sweet lesson for me, and hopefully for others as well.
And just to keep the God visits going, I sit down at my desk to share this experience with you guys and my eyes drew upward to the verse I've had hanging on my wall for many years. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11) You know, I almost never do my blog at the desk. I usually do all my "God time," studying, praying, blogging....all from the comfy cozy position of sitting on my bed, usually joined by at least one cat. Quite the fortuitous change in habit that was. Our heavenly Father is quite the author of "coincidence." LOL
I'm thinking choosing this peace thing over allowing anger and frustration to rule my heart is a pretty great idea! I highly recommend it. Will I do it all the time? Hmmmm, that remains to be seen...but I sure want it to become my "go to," natural response.
Thank You Lord, for Your patient teaching. Thank You for the fruit You bear in my life. It's rewarding and a blessing to see it. Lord, help each of us to trust You more today.
In what circumstance do you need to praise the Lord today when complaining and bitterness have been your normal reaction to this specific circumstance? Try it ! And keep trying it! !
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