From The Pastor’s Pen – By Brian Horrobin
Most of us can keep a pretty even keel when the flow of life stays manageable, but when circumstances go awry, we sometimes unravel.
It was Maya Angelou who once said, “I’ve learned that you tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas lights.”
I couldn’t agree more, and I would also add one more thing, although the list could be endless: border crossing delay.
Six years ago, I was returning home with my brother from a weekend away in Michigan and Indiana.
As we approached the customs on the Canadian side, we chose what looked like the shortest line, with only three or four cars ahead of us, as opposed to the 12-15 cars on either side of us.
Well, 15 minutes later we had not moved, and those lines had emptied and refreshed with other vehicles.
What had started out with casual banter about our weekend away turned into a gripe session about how unreasonable was our delay.
Another flunked test in the school of patience for me!
Proverbs 16:32 says, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.”
When someone does succeed at dealing with lost luggage or tangled Christmas lights, the results are beautiful.
Who can possibly forget the way that pilot, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger carefully crash-landed a US Airways flight on to the Hudson River in New York City on January 15, 2009?
Without flying off the handle or caving in to the pressure of panic, Sully gently guided the crippled jet safely, saving all persons on board.
Anger, panic, or a meltdown of frustration never helped anyone.
If you are a person who struggles in this area give it to the Lord in prayer.
Ask Him to trade your knotted knickers for a nice, cool cucumber.
