Yelling Match Grace

Have you ever been in a situation with someone who didn't hear exactly what you said and got their feathers ruffled and started yelling about it? This happened to me recently. I tried to explain what they misunderstood, but they couldn't hear me, because they were too upset and were yelling.

Now, the smart thing would have been to say a brief prayer for Yelling Match Grace,  for Christ to de-escalate the situation and for everyone to be open to a discussion on the matter. Unfortunately, I didn't think of that until after the fact.

Instead, I joined in the yelling thinking that if the other person heard what I said, it would clarify the whole situation. Did that happen? No way! When people are yelling, they just aren't open to hearing anything, at that point, no matter how reasonable it is. They need time to calm down, before they can be open to listening....well, maybe, next time I'll remember!

Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda Grace

Now, I'm here to tell you, that I truly wish I had prayed for Christ's grace, but did I? No! I just went ahead in my frustration and said less than thoughtful things to two different people I care about. 

I wish I had paid attention to my feelings and kept my mouth shut and said a brief prayer for Christ to take care of my words, but I didn't. Whenever I do say the brief prayers, Christ does take care of the words, so why didn't I do it this time? I don't know, but I let the frustration take lead instead of Christ and regret it!!!!

I apologized to both people and they accepted it, but I know that my words hurt. In fact, I apologized several times, but it didn't make them or me feel any better about what was said. Now, all I can do is to ask for Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda Grace, so I can forgive myself!

I'd Rather Be Dong Anything Else Grace

There have been times when I need to do a project for Christ, but have twenty other things on my personal list I've been trying to fit in. Jesus doesn't say, "I'm too busy to listen to Debbie's prayers and concerns, because I have so many other things to do, she'll just have to wait until later."

I'm very blessed He doesn't do that, because I probably deserve a response like that. Fortunately, Christ is all-forgiving when we ask Him, but He does want us to make Him a priority in our lives. I need to be mindful and say a brief prayer for I'd Rather Be Doing anything Else Grace, so Christ re-focuses me and makes me more open to doing His will.

Phone Call Grace

I know Christ wants us to show kindness to widows, widowers and those who are alone.  Sometimes they are lonely and a phone call can make so much difference. Unfortunately, I'm not a great conversationalist and I run into two different types of difficulties in these situations.

One, they just want someone to talk to and want the phone conversation to go on and on long after I've run out of anything decent to say. The other is that they want you to call frequently, which makes it difficult to find the time to do this more regularly and also to find new things to talk about.

Well, Christ didn't say, "I'm too busy to give my life for Debbie and all those others who think their time is important, so I'll have to rethink this." It makes me much more aware that I have to give up my self-centered ways and say a brief prayer for Phone Grace, knowing that we are befriending those who are alone on Christ's behalf.