The Right Deed Gone Wrong
Have you ever felt like you did the right thing and somehow got punished for it? I certainly have, and recently, these situations seem to be multiplying like rabbits in springtime. There's an old saying that "No good deed goes unpunished," and sometimes life appears determined to prove that axiom true.
In the past couple of weeks, I faced two particularly challenging situations where I followed the right path with the purest intentions, only to be met with heartbreak and disappointment. I won't bore you with the details, but imagine doing everything by the book—crossing every 't', dotting every 'i'—and still ending up with results that make you question whether you should have bothered at all.
In times like these, it's tempting to throw up our hands and say, "Why bother? What's the point in living right if things are going to turn out badly anyway?"
When Your Best Efforts Fall Short
I stared at my computer screen, scratching my head in confusion. The tutorial for the new publishing software had seemed straightforward enough: Import your manuscript, format the chapters, add the front matter, and voilà – a perfectly formatted book would emerge. Yet here I sat, staring at a mess of misaligned text and wonky page numbers that looked nothing like the polished example in the tutorial video.
"I followed every step!" I muttered to myself, replaying the tutorial for the dozenth time. But something was clearly missing, and my frustration level was rising faster than bread dough in a warm kitchen.
It reminded me of so many areas in life where we diligently follow the "instruction manual" but still end up scratching our heads at the results.
How Do You Deal With Life’s Interruptions?
I stared at the question on my computer screen and laughed out loud. Since I sat down to prepare for my Bible study lesson, I have had numerous phone calls, text messages, and other disturbances. How do I deal with interruptions? If my growing annoyance and frustration with others are any indication, not very well, it would seem.
How about you? How do you handle rained-out picnics, canceled vacations due to family illness, or guests showing up on your one quiet night, surprising you with their impromptu visit and expectations of dinner? How do you react when the dog doesn’t quit barking, the kids won’t quit fighting, the boss won’t quit complaining, and the world around you won’t stop asking for more of you?