Once again I found myself dashing out the door after…my quiet time of Bible study and prayer, making the bed, writing two get-well cards (couldn’t put that off another day), printing some documents to read and prepare with comments, breakfast, showering, drying my hair, putting on make-up, getting dressed, etc., etc.
I hurried to get in the car, and checked my watch. In twenty minutes I was due to meet Steve at church , about fifteen minutes away. I had just enough time to stop for gas. After the fill-up, and back in the car, I checked the time again. The pit stop had taken four minutes. If the traffic lights worked with me instead of against me, I’d arrive at my destination with a couple of minutes to spare. Whew.
In the peaceful quiet of the car, I prayed as I often do: “Lord, help me be a blessing to those I meet today. May I be an attentive listener, speak words of encouragement, and maybe even share a bit of wisdom from you.”
Soon I was pulling into the church parking lot. According to the dashboard clock, I did indeed have two minutes to spare. Hallelujah.
With a deep cleansing breath (a holdover habit from Lamaze classes) and a smile, I opened the door…to this news from Steve:
“I’m so sorry, Honey. The computers at Northwestern Mutual just went down. I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer.” (Must have been while I was pumping gas.) “They said they’ll have to reschedule our meeting for next week.”
For a split second I wanted to say, “WHAT?! After all the rushing around I did this morning in order to get here on time? All that effort for NOTHING?! I have a long to-do list I could be tackling! This is so UNFAIR!”
But just who deserved that rant? Certainly not Steve. It wasn’t his fault the computers at Northwestern Mutual weren’t working. So just where could I direct my angst? Nowhere. I had to stuff it down.
And while I was stuffing, my prayer spoken in the car came to mind.
Oh, boy. I had just asked God to help me be a blessing to whomever I might meet. And when a small monkey wrench gets thrown my way I want to throw it back. Some blessing. Will the day ever come when I can react with a gentle and quiet spirit–even in the first moment of upset?
And speaking of upset, this little setback is nothing compared to the heartache and suffering of others. Why do I allow an inconsequential matter, like a postponed meeting, to steal my joy–even for a second?
God is still teaching me some important lessons (because I’m a slow learner):
- What seems to be a waste of time in my shortsightedness may not be, in God’s long view of eternity.
- The to-do list is not a binding, legal document. The wise person leaves space on the page and in her spirit for serendipitous possibilities.
- Changes of plan and interruptions (another bug-a-boo of mine) may be God-engineered events. Greet them with expectation and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
- Live in the present. Put aside the frustration that the plan for the day has been reconfigured. Accept the moment as a surprise gift–to be passed on to someone else who needs a favor, a listening ear, or a bit of encouragement. Another possibility? The moment may turn out to be a gift for you.
I did indeed receive a gift that day. Instead of attending that meeting, I ended up having an impromptu lunch with some of the church staff–a delightful group of people!
Steve has said for years, “Blessed are the flexible.”
I’m starting to catch on.
(Image credit http://www.publicdomainpictures.net.)
So true in our lives and Blessed are the flexible. I feel that most of us are slow learners in this area.
Thanks for being a blessing today and sharing.
Janet
Thank YOU, Janet for your kind words. It helps to know I’m not alone!
Love to you,
Nancy
THANK YOU for this great reminder … The Lord is working on me in that area … in some way it reminds me of the saying, “People are like rubber bands- most effective when stretched” … Blessings to you, dear sister as you let Him dictate that what goes into your day 🙂
i like the way you said: “Let Him dictate what goes into your day.” ‘Can’t go wrong, following that advice! Thank you for the great quote about rubber bands, too.
“The to-do list is not a binding, legal document.” I think this shall be my personal mantra from now on, Nancy! Wise words indeed!
Thank you, Rebeca. When I find those words crossing my mind (since I need to remind myself, too), I’ll think of you!!
Wow, you hit all my buttons with this one. Hurry, wait. Hurry, wait. With many changes happening in my life right now, I need this reminder that God is engineering my schedule. I need to let him work it out.
And will you please remind me as Steve and I face changes in our lives? God is indeed engineering our schedules, into which he’s inserted divine appointments. I know you’re with me on this: We don’t want to miss even one! Thank you for your honesty and loyal following of the blog.
I’m a big fan of not handling change well! Yes I am, so thanks for a lesson on how to be flexible, because the God of the Universe has greater knowledge of what needs doing than I do!
Who knows what God is saving us from or what He is sending us into!?!
“God knows what needs doing.” That needs to be my first thought when interruptions come and plans change. Thanks, Dave!
Don’t mention it….. That’s the 1st time I’ve ever thought that(in terms of changed plans) , thanks to your post
Loved your humor in this one. That WAS your version of ‘The Scream’ in the woman’s face, wasn’t it? This has happened to so many of us and will CONTINUE to happen. We might as well face it with humor instead of raising our blood pressures for something we can not control. This too shall pass.
Thank you, Grace. You are so right. Humor helps greatly when circumstances spin out of control; a good laugh can release the pressure better than anything! And remembering that “this too shall pass” is another useful strategy. Thank you very much for your insightful input!
I certainly could have written this myself. i get barreling down the busy highway of life and look out if you change the schedule, I might become a bear. What a great example too how what we prayer for guides our reactions. great thoughts with a delightful sense of humor too. the photos are perfect. you made me smile tonight
So glad I could put a smile on your face, Jean!
Oh, yeah. TOO true. And very well said, Nancy. Thank you.
Thank YOU, Diana. Your encouragement means a great deal to me.
Loved this one! For years, I have been not very receptive to change. However, I believe this is ONE area that I HAVE improved upon, being flexible when my plans get changed for me by outside circumstances. This brought to mind, however, that I need to continually pray that I will be adaptable day by day. Just last week (when the temperature dipped to the below zero mark in Ohio) my mom called and asked me to immediately get into my car and drive next door to her house so that I could wait at the end of her driveway for my great-niece Destini when she got off the school bus at mom’s so she wouldn’t have to walk. (My youngest nieces get dropped off at my folks’ by the school buses since they attend a school close by.) I had just gotten out of the shower, hair dripping wet, not dressed yet! I said ‘RIGHT NOW’? She said ‘YES’! So I pulled on some sweats, got into my coat, drove over to wait and the bus was in sight when I pulled in! Talk about cutting it close, but God arranged it for me to be on time. Was it inconvenient? Sure! But it served to remind me that adapting to change is something to pray about every day because those monkey wrenches are not going to go away… This post…RIGHT ON!
‘So glad you enjoyed this post, Cheri. And thank you for sharing your experience. You handled that untimely, inconvenient interruption very well!
This is a good lesson to learn, appointments and things can change. In your instance, God had a wonderful plan B for you. I like it when I have a plan B when things don’t work out as planned. Thanks again Nancy.
Plan B’s can be so much better than Plan A anyway! Thank you, Laura for pointing that out.