Reason #524
I seriously think my brain is fried from the heat we've had this week. It has been a hundred million degrees, and it is miserable. It's too hot to do anything. In fact, I found myself not even wanting to eat dinner tonight because it's so hot. This is the first week since Aaron and I have been married that we've actually been able to have a week of free nights, and this free time has worn us out. And so we drag ourselves out of bed each morning, come home exhausted, and repeat the same pattern the next day. I've accomplished absolutely nothing around the house, as working for 8 hours and then coming home to do more work isn't very appealing either. And I would be glad that tomorrow is Friday, but I have to work on Saturday. Can't win them all, I suppose. So I've already had a full week and it's not yet over.
We had a few fussy people at work today. I think the heat was getting to them. And maybe you work around people, trying your best to provide excellent customer service, and yet sometimes it's all you can do to not use the same tone they are using. Maybe they don't realize it in their moment of frustration, but it's always amazing to see grown-ups throwing hissy fits and fully believing such behavior is justified.
I've really had to focus hard on growing a longer fuse and thickening my skin. I get my feelings hurt way too easy, and I've been known to get upset in a Kansas City minute (I'm not really sure what that means exactly, it was just the first thing that popped into my head). Anyway, I found myself on the receiving end of a frustrating phone call today. I was just trying to do my job, follow policy, but it didn't matter. Unfortunately, for this individual, my job is more important to me than breaking the rules to please someone, so I had to attempt to be as sympathetic as possible, apologize and get reprimanded for something I didn't even do, and try to fix it so that everything would be smoothed out. In that moment, I really felt like I was doing everything I could and that it should have been appreciated or at least understood. But it wasn't good enough, and so we both hung up the phone feeling quite put out over a situation that could have been much more pleasant had it gone differently.
I blogged earlier in the week about how difficult it is to take the heat for something you didn't do and to do it without retaliating. I suppose the Lord was reminding me of my own words today. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I've done the exact same thing before. It's easy to get frustrated when you don't get your way, isn't it? It's easy to explode when you have to wait on hold or stand in line for longer than you'd like. And for some reason we believe that if we fuss loud enough, we'll get what we want. I'm not sure if this is just the child in us or where we get this method from, but I've had my moments, too. I've been short with people, unpleasant, tacky and demanding when I was unhappy about an experience I had. And how many of us have not only done that but proceeded to post it on social media so everyone else knows how frustrated we are? Ouch, I know. But what if we realized that sometimes, people make mistakes? What if we remembered that we, ourselves, have had a slip up or two before? What if we reminded ourselves that policies are in place for a reason and workers are required to follow them to keep their jobs? What if we understood that blowing up is way less effective in the long run than being patient and calm? And what if we actually followed the golden rule and treated other people the way we wanted to be treated?
This was a good lesson for me today because I'm not known for patience and I don't give much slack. I've been quick to criticize, threaten, complain, and belittle people who were simply trying to do their job. And so next time I feel the need to do such, I'll remember today. I'll remember that when I think a certain policy is unnecessary, it's absolutely necessary that I don't force someone to jeopardize their job. And I'll remember that just because I am frustrated with a situation as a whole doesn't mean I need to take that out on one single individual who is attempting to help me out. I'll keep in mind that I'm not the only problem of the day that has to be solved or the only one who is requiring extra attention. And I'll remember that they are people, too. People who also have feelings and thoughts and are doing the best they can, just like me.
The Lord doesn't always go lightly on us with these lessons, and I'm finding that out this week. I've been stretched and challenged in more than one area, and what's rising to the surface is less than desirable. But I'm thankful to serve a God who does have a long fuse. A God who is patient and kind to us. One who doesn't retaliate but is gentle and loving. And I'm grateful that He is pruning and refining even though it's tough. Because to look like Jesus, you have to be more like Jesus. And to be more like Jesus means you have to really stop be so much like yourself.
#524 - For a God who prunes and refines us so that we will look more like Jesus and is patient with us when we throw our fits.
"Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you." - Matthew 7:12
We had a few fussy people at work today. I think the heat was getting to them. And maybe you work around people, trying your best to provide excellent customer service, and yet sometimes it's all you can do to not use the same tone they are using. Maybe they don't realize it in their moment of frustration, but it's always amazing to see grown-ups throwing hissy fits and fully believing such behavior is justified.
I've really had to focus hard on growing a longer fuse and thickening my skin. I get my feelings hurt way too easy, and I've been known to get upset in a Kansas City minute (I'm not really sure what that means exactly, it was just the first thing that popped into my head). Anyway, I found myself on the receiving end of a frustrating phone call today. I was just trying to do my job, follow policy, but it didn't matter. Unfortunately, for this individual, my job is more important to me than breaking the rules to please someone, so I had to attempt to be as sympathetic as possible, apologize and get reprimanded for something I didn't even do, and try to fix it so that everything would be smoothed out. In that moment, I really felt like I was doing everything I could and that it should have been appreciated or at least understood. But it wasn't good enough, and so we both hung up the phone feeling quite put out over a situation that could have been much more pleasant had it gone differently.
I blogged earlier in the week about how difficult it is to take the heat for something you didn't do and to do it without retaliating. I suppose the Lord was reminding me of my own words today. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I've done the exact same thing before. It's easy to get frustrated when you don't get your way, isn't it? It's easy to explode when you have to wait on hold or stand in line for longer than you'd like. And for some reason we believe that if we fuss loud enough, we'll get what we want. I'm not sure if this is just the child in us or where we get this method from, but I've had my moments, too. I've been short with people, unpleasant, tacky and demanding when I was unhappy about an experience I had. And how many of us have not only done that but proceeded to post it on social media so everyone else knows how frustrated we are? Ouch, I know. But what if we realized that sometimes, people make mistakes? What if we remembered that we, ourselves, have had a slip up or two before? What if we reminded ourselves that policies are in place for a reason and workers are required to follow them to keep their jobs? What if we understood that blowing up is way less effective in the long run than being patient and calm? And what if we actually followed the golden rule and treated other people the way we wanted to be treated?
This was a good lesson for me today because I'm not known for patience and I don't give much slack. I've been quick to criticize, threaten, complain, and belittle people who were simply trying to do their job. And so next time I feel the need to do such, I'll remember today. I'll remember that when I think a certain policy is unnecessary, it's absolutely necessary that I don't force someone to jeopardize their job. And I'll remember that just because I am frustrated with a situation as a whole doesn't mean I need to take that out on one single individual who is attempting to help me out. I'll keep in mind that I'm not the only problem of the day that has to be solved or the only one who is requiring extra attention. And I'll remember that they are people, too. People who also have feelings and thoughts and are doing the best they can, just like me.
The Lord doesn't always go lightly on us with these lessons, and I'm finding that out this week. I've been stretched and challenged in more than one area, and what's rising to the surface is less than desirable. But I'm thankful to serve a God who does have a long fuse. A God who is patient and kind to us. One who doesn't retaliate but is gentle and loving. And I'm grateful that He is pruning and refining even though it's tough. Because to look like Jesus, you have to be more like Jesus. And to be more like Jesus means you have to really stop be so much like yourself.
#524 - For a God who prunes and refines us so that we will look more like Jesus and is patient with us when we throw our fits.
"Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you." - Matthew 7:12
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