Thursday was a miserable day. Miserable!
Actually, the day started out wonderfully. I spent time with my dear friend Dhyanna in her backyard sanctuary, talking about labyrinths and life while enjoying the beautiful fall weather. As we sat under the tree, beautiful leaves were falling around us, near us and on us. It was peaceful, refreshing, and just what I needed.
Then it happened.
After I left her home, I had to go to my mechanic. The address the service station gave me for my oil change and car checkup took me to a burned-out house on 16th Street. To make matters worse, a garbage truck came along and insisted that I back up half a block and maneuver around the corner to let it through. Ugh! Between the burned-out house and the unexpected backing-up adventure, I was already a bit exasperated.
When I called the car service company, they insisted I must have gotten the address wrong. I disagreed because I had simply clicked on the address they sent me, which went straight into my map and led me right there. I rescheduled and headed home.
Then it happened. Again.
Three years ago, I signed up to be an Amazon Flex driver. After going on a route with my friend Dave and discovering how much fun it was, I thought it would be a great way to earn a little extra money in retirement. Bob was going to be my co-pilot, but Amazon never contacted me about a route until a couple of weeks ago – three years later! Bob couldn't go with me, so I decided, "Why not try it on my own?"
And you know what? I enjoyed it! I like driving, exploring different parts of the city, and helping people by delivering their groceries. The forced exercise was a bonus, and the little bit of spending money didn't hurt either. My first eleven deliveries went beautifully!
Until one didn't.
One of my assigned deliveries was on 56th Street, but the address simply wasn't there. I looked and looked, trying to figure out where it could be. Finally, I called the woman who had placed the order to ask for directions. She was extremely rude, told me never to call her again, threw in a few choice expletives for good measure, and hung up on me.
Well, that was pleasant!
I called driver support, which seemed to take forever. By the time I got everything sorted out, I was late delivering the groceries to my final three homes. I was not a happy camper!
The irony was that I was delivering in my own neighborhood, yet after finishing the route, I had to drive thirty minutes back to Amazon to return the packages I couldn't deliver to that woman. Then it was another thirty minutes home. What should have been a two-hour run turned into nearly four hours.
Ugh! Again!
But here's the thing. The other seven stops were wonderful.
At one home, the family was just arriving as I pulled up, and they came right out to my car to carry in their own groceries. At another, the husband pulled into the driveway just as I was getting out of my car and took the package inside himself.
And then there was the last stop.
An elderly woman was waiting for me on her porch and was eager to talk. Her husband had recently died, and she was preparing for some serious spinal surgery. Understandably, she was frightened. When she asked if delivering groceries was my full-time job, I told her no, that I also worked in churches. She then asked if I would pray with her and for her. Of course I would! What a privilege to pause in the middle of an ordinary day and share a moment of faith with someone who needed encouragement.
When I look back at the day, I see so many good things: a wonderful visit with a dear friend, beautiful fall weather, several pleasant deliveries, and an opportunity to pray with a woman who was facing a difficult time in her life.
Yet what did I focus on?
The burned-out house. The missing address. The angry customer. The frustrating phone call. The extra driving.
One difficult experience seemed to overshadow all the good that had happened. And I found that rather ridiculous! Why was I allowing two frustrating incidents to rob me of the joy of an otherwise wonderful day?
It reminded me of Romans 12:12: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Was I joyful? Was I patient? Was I faithful? Honestly, I wouldn't say I did particularly well on the first two! As for prayer, well, that certainly became important by the end of the day.
It's easy to say that my reaction was simply human nature. We all get frustrated. We all have days when things don't go as planned. And sometimes, one unpleasant encounter can stick with us far longer than all the kindness and goodness surrounding it. But as followers of Christ, we are called to something more. We are called to let God's nature shape our human nature. That doesn't mean we won't get frustrated, feel hurt, or have a bad day. It means we don't have to let those feelings have the final word.
On my drive home, I began to reframe my day. Instead of replaying everything that had gone wrong, I started remembering what had gone right. I thought about my time with Dhyanna, the people who had been kind, and especially the woman who had asked me to pray with her. My day hadn't been entirely miserable after all. My attitude had simply allowed the miserable parts to take center stage.
How often do we do that? We can receive ten compliments and spend the evening thinking about the one criticism. We can enjoy a beautiful day and let one rude person spoil it. We can experience God's goodness in a dozen ways and still fixate on the one thing that went wrong.
I don't want to live that way.
I want to be more joyful in hope, more patient when life gets frustrating, and more faithful in prayer. I want to notice the blessings woven into ordinary days, even when those days include a few unexpected detours. And I want to remember that sometimes God places us exactly where we need to be, even when getting there involves a little frustration!
Most of all, I'm grateful that God is patient with me. God doesn't stop loving me when I get grumpy, lose my perspective, or allow my human nature to get the best of me. Instead, God gently reminds me to look again, see the blessings, and begin anew. Thank goodness God's grace doesn't depend on whether I've had a good day or been good at handling a bad one!
So, the next time one unpleasant thing threatens to ruin your day, perhaps pause for a moment and look around. What good things might be hiding behind your frustration? Where has God shown up in the middle of your ordinary day? And what might happen if you let those blessings have the final word?
I'm still learning. Thursday was a good reminder that I have some work to do! But I'm so grateful that God keeps working on me, loving me, and saving me—even when my human nature takes over instead of God’s nature. I should focus more on the leaves falling around me, near me and on me.
God loves you, and so do I!
Hope
Thanks, Dave Kelly, for this lovely fall tree! I should have focused on the leaves. God is amazing creating such beautiful things for us to enjoy.