I had a really bad day today. I was so mad and so frustrated I just sat down and cried. That's what I do when I am beyond mad and beyond frustrated.
But then I spoke with a friend who is burying her grandma tomorrow. And another friend who is dealing with a really difficult medical situation with her child. And yet another friend is packing up and moving across the country--without a promise of a job but she and her husband know this is what God wants them to do. All of a sudden my bad day wasn't as bad. It still stunk, but in comparison...not so much.
In the interim though I marveled at how easily I become overwhelmed and how little endurance I have in the situations God sends my way to test my patience--and my faith. Not that I want my friends to suffer more than I do so I feel better about my situation but in this case, God really used it to help me gain perspective.
As a general rule, we tend to compare up--we look at those who have it better. Then it's easy to wallow in how poorly we feel. What if, instead, we looked at those around us who have less and we set out to minister to them? Then our focus would no longer be us, it would be in helping and loving others.
Everyone wins. The less fortunate are helped in the process and so are we. The spiritual rewards are great when we get outside of ourselves.
1 comment:
...and, unfortunately at time in my mind, the Lord uses the frustrating times to (once again) reveal to me the grace of humility. Blessings on your day -- and hope it is a better one, friend.
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