Before you grumble to God about the neighbor who seems to not want to talk to your child, ask God to enlighten you. Has this person lost a child of their own, maybe one that was close to your child's age?
Before you grumble to God about the kid that rode his bike through your yard this afternoon, ask God for understanding. Perhaps he was only in a hurry because he wanted to spend a few rare minutes with his dad before he left for his second shift job at the factory. Maybe if he had not taken a short cut he would have missed his dad by mere seconds.
Before you grumble to God about the lady who was taking her own sweet time at the grocery store, ask God to grant you patience. Maybe she was moving slow due to the pain she endures because she can't afford that hip replacement the doctor has repeatedly prescribed.
Before you grumble to God about the new family that comes to church in jeans and t-shirts, ask God to humble you. Those jeans and t-shirts might be the clothes they had in when they recently lost their home and all its contents.
The next time you kneel in prayer, pray for yourself first. Ask God to open your heart, your eyes, your ears and your mind so that you might have more compassion and understanding and that you might see more than what appears to be.
~Ruth McDonald Mair~
7-19-2020