There are things that happen every single day that can attempt to steal your inner peace and joy. They can wreak havoc on your mood, raise your blood pressure, and can cause issues with everyone and everything else in your life that day that had nothing to do with any of it. I won’t even lie that sometimes they test the Jesus in you.
Just to give a few examples…..
There are a lot of people out there that just plain and simply either do not know how to drive or do not care how rude they are being by cutting others off, riding their bumpers, and so much more. And sometimes I find myself yelling at them to back off me or making motions in the mirror that say the same thing (and no, I am not talking about the bird…that is NOT who I am). And then I will chuckle because it isn’t like they can hear me, but I KNOW they can they see me. It really especially irritates me when I have children with me because not only are you endangering me and you, but my kids, and they are very precious and valuable to me. Or when I am stuck behind traffic that is moving a little slower than I would like. Most of the time, there is never a situation so great that merits people, including me, acting a fool on the road. So after I get all worked up, I decide to pray. Jesus bless them.
The same goes for Wal-Mart. I think of Wal-Mart aisles the same way I think of roads. You have your main aisles or streets, and then there are the side aisles/streets. If I am traveling on a side street to get to the main street, I need to pause and look before I just jump out there. Or if I am already on the main street and someone comes off a side street, please do not get huffy and puffy with me because I won’t move out of your way when I was on the main road first. I know in some of your minds that is exactly the way it works, but it doesn’t. And I may or may not give looks to people who decide to join in the middle of my family as we are walking because they cannot go around us and are trying to go through us. Or the ones that try to go around me as we are going on the same aisle with our buggies. As I have mentioned before, I don’t always filter my facial expressions. I try hard, but sometimes I fail. Sometimes I make frustrated sounds to match my very frustrated facial expressions, and other times I say very loudly how rude it is and end it with “Jesus bless them!” and then plead for Him to give me peace.
Or how about all the times you have to call customer service numbers and get someone that you cannot understand? Or you get put on hold and transferred from this department to that department and back around again and before you know it you have spent an hour and a half on the phone? Your blood starts to boil and your inner peace starts to go because you are wasting so much time and have much better things to do. It is happening to me right now just thinking about all of this. And it really isn’t anyone’s fault. They are trying to pay their bills too. But we get frustrated, and sometimes rude when we probably don’t have to be (and sometimes being “tough” is very much necessary). Jesus bless them. And restore my inner peace.
I should probably start there first though. Will it keep those things from happening? No! But will it give me a different perspective and possibly help me deal with the situation differently? Absolutely. Will it help me have more peace? Yes. I know that there will be traffic on the interstate and irritating drivers on the roads and at Wal-Mart and on customer service calls and everywhere else. It isn’t always about them, but us and our responses to them. We are not responsible for their actions. We are only responsible for ours. And maybe if ours are positive, we can influence theirs to be as well. Unless it comes to the kids and then that is sometimes an entirely different story.
And sometimes there’s a time to speak out.
They cut me off in traffic? Jesus bless them, and give me peace.
They walked out in front of me in Wal-Mart? Jesus bless them, and give me peace.
They took an item out of my hands on Black Friday and growled at me? Jesus bless them, and give me peace.
They cussed at me? Jesus bless them, and give me peace.
They nearly ran our child over with their buggy because they were in some hurry to get somewhere else in the store? Jesus bless them, and give me peace.
They transferred me to someone else AGAIN? Jesus bless them, and give me peace.
Jesus bless them.
Every.
Single.
One.
Of.
Them.
And give me peace.
Every.
Single.
Day.
And sometimes it may be Jesus bless them, give me peace, and someone hold my coffee while I go all mama bear on them.
And that’s okay too.