On a recent Saturday, it did.
I let it get the better of me.
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A rather expensive item I'd purchased at the grocery store was left behind. Somehow the cashier didn't get it into my bag.
When I got home and realized I didn't have it, I called customer service. "Just come back in with your receipt and we'll give you another one," she said.
Oh, fun. A trip back to the store when I'd been out all afternoon and I just wanted to stay home and start supper.
The girls saw me leave the house and they knew.
Though I was polite to the apologetic customer service lady, I could have been more gracious.
Where was my focus? On myself and how I was inconvenienced.
I was frustrated. Frustrated with the cashier, with the bagger, with having to give up my time to drive all the way back to the store. (In reality, about twenty minutes round trip.)
Frustration won that day.
And, as is often the case, it centered around pride and selfishness.
Proverbs 14:17a says, "He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly." Proverbs 14:29 exhorts us, "He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly." And Ecclesiastes 7:9 reads, "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools."
Ultimately I get frustrated - and then angry - because my expectations aren't met or because an inconvenient interruption arises.
Yet with God's help, I can get victory over my frustration. I certainly don't want to be classified with the foolish, nor do I want to set a poor example before my children in how I handle those inconveniences. Instead I need to model kindness and grace even when things don't go according to plan.
It tried to creep in yesterday, but I recognized it. I took a small step toward conquering that enemy of frustration.
Have you dealt with frustration lately?
Tracey, thanks for the great reminder that we all are just human! And that we all need to keep looking up! It is such a blessing to know that the Lord knows us and still loves us! We are all a work in progress, aren't we!
ReplyDeleteI am the BIGGEST sucker on earth re: succumbing to frustration!!! :-( I'm getting better recognizing it creep in, but I'm still a mess when it comes to getting over myself enough to shut it down. Yes - always a work in progress!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, my! Frustration? Yes. And I hate it the most when I get frustrated with my children; they are gifts from God, and it is my job to train them. But they are so frustrating sometimes, and I need the reminder that God is using them to sanctify me.
ReplyDeleteFrustration is such an easy foe to give in to. Thank you for this reminder, Tracey. I need to be so vigilant against frustration.
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