I like to think of myself as an upbeat people person who has a fabulous sense of humor and rarely gets cranky.
…most of the time.
But then there are times like last week, when every person I encountered over a 24-hour-period had lost their mind. Crazy. Dumb. They had all gone nuts, and I was the poor, helpless victim. None of the disasters were my fault, of course. I was simply the lone victim in a crowd of craziness, holding on for dear life.
Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little.
There’s a small chance that I was a bit cranky myself. And hormonal. And tired. And maybe, just maybe, all those crazy people weren’t 100 percent in the wrong. Maybe I made a few mistakes that day too. Maybe I was a little too quick to judge and a little too stingy with my mercy.
Maybe, just maybe, I lost my sense of humor and decided to react by wallowing in some self pity.
It’s exactly for those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days that God wrote this to me:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
-Colossians 3:12-14
On that bad day, I chose to clothe myself in cute heels and a headband instead of in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Did I have extra grace and mercy in my heart for the folks who caused me grief? Not really. Was my love obvious to those around me? Probably not.
Luckily that’s not the end of the story. After a good bit of repenting on my part, I choose a new attitude:
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.-Colossians 2:6
I’m a work in progress, and I will keep on trying to live a life worthy of the Lord and to please him in every way, praying that he strengthens me with great endurance and patience (Colossians 1:10-13).
He is good.