Ok…confession time. This past spring, I went to my church’s women’s retreat. It is a huge event. I was there to learn but also to teach an afternoon workshop.
There was a Starbucks close to our hotel. I walked over there to get a hot chocolate. Simple enough, right? I need to tell you something. I don’t order the hot chocolate for the hot chocolate. I order it for the whipped cream…seriously. I ask them to please put whipped cream on and to leave the lid off, because anyone knows that if you put the lid on, the whipped cream begins to melt into the hot chocolate. And I like whipped cream in its natural state (which to me is how it comes on a hot chocolate)…not melted down. Guess what? They put the lid on. Ok…stressor #1. As soon as I got it, I pulled the lid off. Underneath the surface, I was frustrated but I think I was able to conceal it. But the stage had been set. I politely asked for a spoon…because if you like whipped cream the way I do, you need to have a spoon to eat it before it melts into the hot chocolate…which is like eating your dessert before you eat the vegetables. Ok…back to my tale of woe. I asked for a spoon and you will never believe what the gal said to me. “We don’t have any spoons.” That’s it. She didn’t apologize, she didn’t offer to go look in the back room. She just said, “We don’t have any spoons.”
How is it possible for Starbucks to not have spoons? That’s like McDonald’s not having fries. It just doesn’t happen. My whipped cream was melting in to the hot chocolate. Time was of the essence. I turned and looked at the stirring sticks. Poor excuse for a spoon…can’t fit much whipped cream on the end of one of those.
I lost it. Ok…I didn’t throw any tables or let loose with any expletives, but I grumbled, louder than I should have, about how can it be possible for Starbucks to not have spoons?!! I pouted and didn’t enjoy that hot chocolate… not one little bit.
About 15 minutes after it happened, I thought to myself “Have you lost your mind?!” Why would I ever think that was ok? In what world is it ok for someone to get that upset over the lack of a spoon or a missed opportunity to eat whipped cream?
Now some of you may say…come on…it wasn’t that bad. But it was. What a reveal of the junk in my heart. If I cannot be faithful in such a little thing, how will I ever be faithful in a really tough situation?
The world is dying to see something different they can put their hope in. I so want to be a part of showing them that hope through what they see in my life. But…I need to get out of the way. I need to know what is of importance and what is not. I need to die to myself and embrace what God is doing in my heart. May I yield more and more to the leading of the Holy Spirit and may it show in my life.
Grace and Peace,
Deb
Thursday, July 19, 2007
spoons
Posted by deb at 12:10 AM
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2 comments:
This sounds like me at the grocery store. I get so frustrated with people who leave their carts in the middle of the aisle or who walk slower than anything. And I swear that it always seems to be senior citizen day when I go which never helps. But what is it about me that I can get so frustrated over something that in the big picture just doesn't matter? Even if my frustration doesn't show on the outside, its still there making my heart ugly. And I don't want that. Thank goodness God is patient.
sometimes it just happened when we can't get what we want or what we usually have. Several years ago, I was having a bad temper and got easily angry over a simple thing, just like your spoon. Luckily, I found my patience through Him slowly. Even though I still have that bad temper, but it is getting better now.
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