There are times when it seems like just a couple of well-placed lightning bolts would solve quite a few of the world’s problems. Or at least a few of mine. Of course, that’s just another one of a gazillion reasons why I’m not God, and a good thing, too. Irritating, frustrating, and irrational people are, you know ,…irritating and frustrating, and can make one question one’s own rationality.
I should know, having been one of “those people” myself, more times than I probably care to admit.
Many years ago, author Joyce Landorf coined the phrase “irregular people” in her book by the same name. We all have them, as described above, and also as stated, we have all been one at some point, or will be. It goes along with that truism:
Usually, a few bug guts on my windshield aren’t terribly inconvenient; although they’re ugly, I can still see to drive my car. That is, until the sun hits them just the right way, then …
…and suddenly, driving becomes a hazardous enterprise! Really, the responsible thing to do is to pull over and clean off the windshield. Otherwise, I’m not only endangering myself, but those in the car with me and other drivers sharing the road.
Irregular people do that. They can muss up my vision–my perspective, intentions, goals. And if I allow it, even my physical health, and more importantly, my heart.
That’s one of (the many) reasons why this was written into eternity for us:
“Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.”
Naturally, bug guts come in all varieties and colors: offense and unforgiveness, unmet expectations, unfair or harsh criticism, and worse things I care not to put in print. Then there are the times (oh, this is hard one!) when I realize that it’s my emotional guts on someone else’s windshield. It’s one thing to forgive someone else–how mature and altruistic of me. It’s quite a different challenge to ask someone else’s forgiveness. Saying “I’m sorry” may be a bit of a lost art. I’ll admit I’ve gotten quite good at it through the years, and I’m still learning. It sure can go a L-O-N-G way in helping clean up the other party’s visual field, though.
It’s fairly easy to put off the cleaning process, especially when we’re in the fast lane of life, until by God’s grace His light hits our lives and we’re stunned by how much we really can’t see. Best to pull over, STOP, get out of traffic,–whatever that looks like for us individually–thus protecting all involved.
Guaranteed, the ride will be much more enjoyable when the view is unobscured.
INSPIRATION with an ATTITUDE 