Glory

This is my new favorite song. It's wonderful to think that one day we will get to be in Heaven with Jesus. The other day my daughter and I were talking about Heaven and I guess I'm a good salesman, because she was ready to go. It's actually not the first time she's said that. She realizes that this world is not that comfortable, and there is a better place waiting for us.

Dealing with Difficult People

God has been dealing with me lately about my attitude towards difficult people. I have no problem being patient and nice to reasonable and rational people, but ridiculous people--that's a different story. I feel like I've been overworked lately, and so when people get difficult, it interferes with me getting things done. When I say difficult, I mean complaining, grumbling, nagging, and unhappy. My husband has this saying, "they'd gripe if you hung them with a new rope." I've also realized that for some people, I could give them a million dollars and they would whine and say "how will I spend all that money?" Then I have those people who have to call me frequently to make sure I am getting their work done. I do need a reasonable amount of reminding, but today I had a guy call me 6 times--mainly to see if I had done what he'd asked me to do. Once I was in the process and had to stop so I could talk to him. I wanted to say, "I would have had it done a long time ago if you would quit calling me." This also makes me think of how I deal with other people in the public. Maybe I call and they are just overloaded, and can't get anything done. They aren't mad at me, but the fact that time just seems to slip away as they get more behind. I have another lady, who is gruff and unhappy. She needs people to care about her, but she's a prickly porcupine so nobody really wants to be near her.

So how do I deal with difficult people in my busy world. I pray. All I know to do is pray each day, "God help me show the love of Jesus." Today, I'm not sure I passed the test, but I tried. I didn't say what I wanted to say, but I'm afraid I wasn't very happy either. I'm sure my attitude was shining through. Dealing with difficult people is not something only I deal with, almost anyone who is in a profession that deals with the public knows what I'm talking about it. Most of us don't want to admit it, but we've been one of those difficult people at one time or another. We wanted something done faster than the other person was getting it done, and we just demanded our rights.

The verse I shared in class Sunday was "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3. I must put others ahead of myself, even when I don't want to. Even when it is inconvenient. Even when it would profit me if I didn't. God's rules are not easy, and living them daily in this world is not always fun, but the rewards we reap from following His way is immense. I've been blessed, and I know if I will learn this lesson--being a positive influence on difficult people--he will bless me again. He's just that kind of God.