It was the first day of a new teaching job and I thought I was prepared. I had driven to campus the day before so I knew that it would take 25 minutes to get there. I had my clothes picked out and pressed. I had my lesson plans set, all of my papers copied and ready to give out to the students. Well, the morning didn’t go quite as I expected.
It all started with the morning commute. I left my house a full 65 minutes ahead of class time which would seem to be plenty of time to get there, park, and arrange my classroom. The first part of the commute was going along fine, but then I saw it: lots of brake lights and cars inching along. There was an accident ahead of me and I still had about 5 miles to go. I didn’t know any alternate routes since it was a new route to me. I tried calling my husband to see if he knew another way to get to my destination, but he didn’t pick up. I started to panic and a few choice words started to come into my mind and out of my mouth.
Finally, I made it to campus with about 10 minutes until the
class would start and began to look for parking. The day before, I had found parking with no
problem, so I assumed it would be the same way.
I went to Parking Lot A and found no spaces and then on to B with no
success. Then, I remembered that I could
park in a special lot for staff but I needed my name badge to open the
gate. Where had I put that thing? I finally dug my badge out of my bag and
proceeded to swipe my badge to lift the parking gate. I did it once; it didn’t move. Then, I did it again and again, but the parking gate didn’t budge. By this time, there were some impatient
drivers behind me waiting to do what I could not. Thankfully, another employee who had arrived
before me took mercy on me and came and swiped her card so that I could get
into the parking lot. I quickly gathered
my things and ran to class.
There were other annoyances that day and that week for that
matter. Sometimes we have “those” days,
weeks, or seasons where our best made plans don’t work out. Our
response to those events is what God wants us to be mindful of. Do we rest in HIS presence or do we start
to fall apart at the first hint of trial?
Do we begin to say (or think) words of anger or words of praise? I wish that I could say that I give God
words of praise in the annoying moments of everyday life. I can’t.
Unfortunately, many times I say (or think) words that aren’t pleasing to
HIM.
I read something recently that has begun to help me see things
differently: “When everything is going
great , we should praise Him with everything we have. When everything feels like
it's falling apart, we can rest in the knowledge that God is still good and
deserves just as much praise!”
God deserves our praise for what He has already done. If HE never does another thing for us, HE has
already given us the most amazing gifts.
Despite our surrounding circumstances, HE has already paid the price for
our sin, given us a purpose, and promised us HE will be with us through every
trial we face. Give HIM praise today! Find
something to be thankful for and tell HIM.
Psalm 51:5 "Lord, open
my lips. My mouth shall declare your praise."
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for all of the blessings that you have given me. Thank you for life and breath and
your amazing creation. Help me to praise you in the midst of life's annoyances. I
praise you today! Amen. Angela Sutsakhan
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