I was turning left at a busy intersection the other day. I waited till, I thought, it was my time to go. I went and immediately got into the lane all the way to the right so I could then make a right hand turn. I looked back and saw a car with one of his passengers giving me a one finger gesture that certainly wasn't to tell me I was number one. I remember allowing myself the three seconds to take in the whole picture. This guy giving me the gesture wasn't the driver, he wasn't the front seat passenger, he actually was sitting in the backseat of the car with his body halfway hanging out the window with his hand up and he was mouthing exactly what the finger meant. Our cars went in opposite directions at that moment and I began to think about what in the world I had done. I then started laughing. I know, I should be a little bit more serious about what had just happened. However, I couldn't stop laughing as I thought about the backseat passenger, literally, hanging out the backseat window.
It was funny because I recalled a moment over the weekend when I had a short fuse with my oldest son. He interrupted me while I was reading a sad news story. He caught me so off guard that I shut him down with an abrupt and a loud NO! Both my husband and son started laughing at me. It was such a funny moment because I had no reason to be so short and abrupt with him. I just yelled because it wasn't a convenient moment or really a convenient week. I was thankful both my husband and son started laughing because it brought perspective. What in the world would cause me to be so short?
Listen, I am tired. I am involved in a lot in this season of my life. I have kids. My husband and I were given some bad news that our son has to have another major surgery. There are other things we are battling privately. And the list goes on...
Here's the deal: you and I could take an inventory of all the difficult things we are facing right now and we could commiserate together with how hard, how unfair, how sad our lives might be and then we could project those sad and angry feelings on those closest to us or onto the person driving the car next to us...
Or...
You and I could be honest with what is difficult in life and then make a list of all of the great and amazing things the Lord has done in our lives! We could let go of the anger and let go of the feeling of how unfair life is. We could change the path of our thoughts and choose to focus on how wonderful the gifts we have been given are! We could give grace because we have been given grace. You and I could be slow to anger. We could show kindness when it's not deserved. Too many times we are waiting for someone else to do that for us. While we are waiting for our husbands, our wives, our neighbors, our co-workers, and the driver next to us to show us grace and compassion, let's step out and do it ourselves for others.
This going to sound very preachy but let me speak truth: God in all of His goodness and grace, which is undeserved, showed His great love towards you and me by sending His only Son to die on our behalf. He took upon himself the pain, the brokenness, the hurt, the abandonment, the anger, He knew we would face and He said we don't have to bear the struggle in our own strength. We don't have to carry the difficulties of life by ourselves, we can give them to Jesus because that is why He died. He died so you and I could have life and life more abundantly. He promised us a life of freedom in Christ! A life full of His love even in the midst of great battles. Life is not easy but we can do this, we can walk this path because we are not alone when we are in Christ.
As I write this, I have tears in my eyes for you because I know how difficult life can be. I know it is hard. But you need to know there is some One who wants to walk with you, to cheer you on, and to hold you up. You are not lost in this battle. God is greater than this battle and when you believe in what Jesus did and accept His gift then He fills you with His strength, His endurance, His love! All you have to do is believe He is with you, He is for you, and believe you can do this in Him.
That guy that flipped me off could be facing the most difficult season of his life or maybe it's just what he does, hang out of windows flipping people off, but no matter why he did it, I know that I want to give grace because I know I need grace. What he did caused me to look at myself and say why do I lash out in anger? Why are there moments when I don't have self-control? Well, it's because I allow the challenges of life to be my focus. It's easy to fall into the darkness of our circumstances and to allow the emotion, the fear, the anger to dictate how you and I treat others but it's time for us to live in Christ and in His love.
This life isn't about perfection but recognizing our weaknesses and living in the strength of Christ in us.
PSA: Let's try not to flip others off while driving. :)
