
Several months ago, I went to the doctor’s office for my annual checkup. The first words they spoke to me that day were, “You are late. We will not be able to do your physical today.”
“I am six minutes late. I apologize. It’s been a while since I drove here, and I miscalculated how long it would take.” My apology did not sway the assistant's willingness to accommodate me. Her condescending tone increased my frustration with her and myself for being a little off schedule. There was no panic that morning that should have delayed me.
They did let me see the FNP for an abbreviated visit. She was pleasant as we talked about some medical issues but as I left that day, I muttered to myself. “I’m not coming back here.” The snooty attitude of the assistant blurred my ability to remember why that medical facility had been my choice in the first place.
A couple of months later when I realized my prescriptions could not be refilled until my annual physical, I found myself sitting in the same chair I occupied on my day of frustration.
Little things like that don’t usually get under my skin. I listen to others banter on and on about similar situations and sometimes think, they need to just move on. Admittedly, my own attitude needed a revival.
So, there I sat. Trying to solve my problem without picking up where I'd left off with the negative attitude. The FNP came in with her customary smile. She asked me if I was still working or if I had retired. “I retired from a thirty-year career at the post office. Now I’m an author, speaker, and worship leader.” My answer piqued her curiosity.
“What do you write?”
“Things about the Christian faith. I’ve contributed stories to five books and written my own book. It’s called The Power of a Well-Placed Yes: God’s Abundant Faithfulness in a Small Church.”
Then she began to explain her trials as a mom raising three children, ages 7, 5 and 3. She told me her five-year-old came home one day saying, “I don’t like who I am.” Her mom radar went on high alert as she thought, who is talking like this around my five-year-old daughter? She should not be thinking like this.
She asked me, “How do you know? How do you know what to do to help your kids stay strong in the Lord? I teach them to be kind. It's important to me.”
I told her, “Teach them the Word of God. That way when they become teenagers and start making important decisions, they will already know what to do. God’s standards will already be deep in their spirit. Their major decisions won’t feel stifling to them. The choice to do things God’s way will come naturally.”
The lessons I learned from the day I was late were not new. All the things that went wrong were in my control. My tardiness, my frustration, my willingness to let it go. All my choices. I’m thankful I got another chance to visit with that young mother. Reminding her how good God’s Word is and how effective it can be in her children’s lives was another form of grace to me. When I mess up, God in his goodness, helps me clean up and start again.
Where have you seen God’s grace applied in your life? Sometimes it is in those crevices that we easily ignore. Often it offers us an opportunity to untangle our attitude from actions that would pull us away from God's grace both for ourselves and others. Those little adjustments matter.
We never know where God will use us! I'm glad you were ready with an answer!