There’s a kid who lives in my cul-de-sac who has the loudest car on the planet. And he speeds out of the neighborhood making as much noise as he possibly can in that blasted car. This is usually at about 6 AM when he’s on his way to school. Oh, and sometimes at about 2 AM when he’s hanging out with his friends who have equally loud cars. I have plotted this kid’s death. I’m not joking. I’ve dreamed about hurting him every time he wakes my kids up early with his loud car and every time I wake up in the middle of the night because he’s gone ripping up the street. I know, I’m super spiritual.This kid and his car is an annoyance, and there are plenty more where that came from, right? I often have a really difficult time focusing on Jesus in the annoying things. The kid who must have his shoes tied tight enough to remold his foot, the washer breaking, the child who insists on getting up at the crack of dawn every day, the annoying neighbors, the person cutting us off in traffic, the lines at the grocery store, even the spouse who cannot stop doing that thing that drives us crazy. None of these are crisis-level things, but they sure do add up to some serious annoyance.So, what does God do in the annoying things? I thought of this today when that rotten kid (God bless him) went speeding off again. God says He will meet ALL my needs in Christ (Phil 4:19). Full stop. That means my needs for patience and wisdom to not kill a teenager. That also means love for a perfectionist child, the crazy neighbors, the insane drivers, and the spouse.The trick is the time to ask Him to be all of that before I do or say something stupid…which I do…a lot. So, I’ve started praying for a few seconds of realization and refocus. I need to realize that I’m headed the wrong way and refocus on Christ so that I remember I have all I need in Him, even for the current annoying situation. And in His Life, I don’t have to react out of my flesh. I get a choice. More often than not, I make the wrong choice. I’m praying that the more I get to know Jesus, the more I will want to choose Him and let Him deal with the annoyance of the moment rather than trying to do it on my own and making a royal mess out of it once again. And He is faithful to give me lots of annoying chances to see Him in the middle of it. Thank you, Jesus…I think.
Annoyances