How often does Satan convince me midst my annoyance and frustration that I am justified to feel that way.
Amongst most my friends I have a reputation of being a bargain hunter. I think this comes more out of my love for shopping than my desire to pinch a penny. However some of my friends have translated bargain shopper into personal shopper (fine by me) and then others have MISTAKENLY translated it to mean I'm very wise with my money.
So I wasn't totally surprised when a dear friend at her wits end says to me , "here take my credit cards and only give them to me in the case of an emergency".
I knew right away this wasn't a great idea.
"Are you sure?" I asked. She was sure.
I stuck the cards in my ipad case (that I got for a great deal), told her I would do right by her and saved the day.
Fast forward to the next day...yes. the. next. day.
As per a normal morning I woke up and dropped my kids off at school. I noticed I was low on gas but had enough to get them to school on time and planned to fill up at the station by the school after drop off.
I pulled away from school fully aware that my first stop had to be gas or I would be stranded. As I coasted into the station relief came over me, momentarily that is, until I realized I had no wallet.
Dang it.
I sat there wondering what to do when I remembered something. (you see where this is going)
I had my ipad, therefore I had my girlfriends credit cards. I couldn't. I shouldn't. I'm supposed to be holding them so she doesn't use them - I cant use them!
But I did.
After a call confessing to her the situation she was very understanding. If only it ended there. It gets worse.
I had enough gas to get me to the gym, no point going home now. And after all ..the grocery store IS right next to the gym.
As I skipped out of the grocery store with my new purchases and my stolen credit cards I was feeling pretty resourceful.
Of course I nervously called the cards rightful owner and explained I would pay everything back. She laughed and said it was fine. I was dealt with very graciously, only for some reason she took her cards back later that week.
I thought about that story as I was recounting it to some mutual friends and thought about how graciously God deals with us. My girlfriend had every right to be angry, but she wasn't because she valued me more than her cards or the money they represented.
How often do I put circumstances before relationships? How often does Satan convince me midst my annoyance and frustration that I am justified to feel that way.
Are we ever justified in our frustration and annoyances? Why do we condone our behavior when irritated by someone ...the friend who is 15 minutes late to coffee or the spouse who leaves their drawers open or the man who keeps parking in two spots! Do I value my kids more than the mess they make or my spouse more than the milk he forgot to buy?
My friend had every right to be upset and maybe if you ask her she'll say silently she was but she showed love and I'm challenging myself to love. To stop allowing myself to feel justified in these moments and value the person above it all.
Jesus has valued me above all and I owe Him everything. Who am I to not deal with others in a similar way? Oh I will still be human and get annoyed, but now I hope to catch myself. I hope to humbly remember the way I have been graciously dealt with by our Lord and others. I hope to choose love and relationships over situations. It seems appropriate here to remind myself once again ... that LOVE DOES.
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