I haven’t posted anything new lately, but I have been saving up my ten dollars per paycheck and waiting to see what I was to do with the money. I went on a vacation, used Uber for the first time, yet I still didn’t feel lead to use the money.
I went back to work and tried to adjust coming back from a grand vacation. One of my workers needed me to switch shifts with her, so instead of working the morning shift I would be working the evening shift. I was fine with that because that meant I could sleep in the next morning. Everything was going well that day at work until about 8:25pm. The maintenance men usually come between 8:00 and 8:30pm to pick up our trash. Sometimes they have to wait for me as I get so busy, I forget to get it ready for them. They are always forgiving and smile as I apologize to them and thank them.
This particular night the man was at my door and I found myself getting angry at myself for not getting the trash ready. I had a disgusted look on my face as I handed him the trash bags. I didn’t even say thank you. Then like a bolt of lightning it hit me what I had just done. It was too late, he was gone and there was no way to apologize to him. That’s when I knew what I had to do.
We have four maintenance workers who work at the mall, two ladies and two men. I always try to be pleasant to them and thank them when they help me. I truly appreciate all their hard work. I have respected them and treated them kindly until this particular night.
Why didn’t I say thank you to this man? Why did I have that disgusted look on my face? Why did I show that anger I had towards myself to someone who was innocent? I don’t know. I think I was so upset with myself that I forgot about those around me. Maybe it was pride, all I know is I was wrong. I should not have acted unkindly to that man, when he was only doing his job.
How often do we do that though? How many times something happens at work or at school and we come home and act roughly or rudely to our family members or friends? We excuse it by saying we had a bad day, or the traffic on the way home was horrendous. Does our family deserve to be treated rudely? Does our mate deserve to be treated unkindly? Do our children deserve to be yelled at? NO! The truth of the matter is, we all need to ask God to control our emotions and our reactions towards others. Let’s face it, it is hard to keep everything in check at all times. We need God’s help. So, why not ask Him? He is there, willing and able to help us in our time of need.
I asked God to forgive me for being rude to the maintenance man and then decided to write each one of the four workers a note thanking them for their patience and hard work. I enclosed a Gospel tract and a $10 bill and told them to buy a lunch for themselves.
When I hand the envelope to the man that I was rude to I am going to apologize, because no one deserves to be treated rudely.
I am so thankful God is patient with me. And hopefully in the future my face and actions will reflect Him instead of myself!
