"God Will Not Test You..."

"God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

I was reminded of this on Friday as I had (like Alexander in the book) a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. It started early with weather that was less than desirable. I had to leave early to ensure I wasn't snarled in any weather related accidents. The wind pushed my little car as I crossed the river on the big draw bridge. I said a prayer for the teenagers killed in Alabama the day before, knowing they never stood a chance.

I got to work and the day started pretty much like any other. Plenty of grumpy customers who feel like their cell phone woes are worse than anything anyone else in the world is going through. At 8, I went on break. I went downstairs to get a chicken biscuit, but they were all out, so I settled on a blueberry muffin. As I went back upstairs, the power went off in the building. We have a back-up generator, so I was none too worried.

I got back up stairs to find that only one side of the building had power restored by the generator. The side I don't sit on. So, our whole team was told to move as few of our things as we could get by with to the empty desks on the other side of the floor. That's great and all, but what happens when the people those desks belong to come in? As soon as we were settled, power returned to our side. So, it was on the move again. I was scheduled for an online training, which I was stuck on a call and missed. I was rescheduled, logged in late, and then could not access the training. On top of all this, the computer at my desk, had power, but would not log on. So, I moved to a co-workers seat across from mine who was taking a few days vacation as his family was visiting from Jersey.

One after another, my customers screamed, raged and were grossly insenstive about their cell phone issues. I patiently explained solutions to various problems all the while praying for more patience as it was already wearing thin. The day was rough for others too. My supervisor said "Thank you God for comp time!" and took off a few hours early.

I made it through the rest of my day, leaving at 2:30 to go get Shelby at daycare. As I meandered through traffic to get to daycare listening to classical music, it hit me. I wasn't bitter or crying or upset. My pregnancy hormones were in check the whole day. I wasn't being hunted down like an animal in Darfur, I'm not dodging bullets in Iraq, I'm not hungry or thirsty or imprisoned. Without thinking of it, I had been offering up my problems of the day. After all, many of the ill people I had spoken to had bigger problems in their lives that were only being expressed through their interaction with me. I could leave their problems at work at the end of my day and go hold my beautiful baby girl. As for those suffering in the world at large, I could close the newspaper or change the channel. Something I know they wish they could do. At a red light I quietly said a prayer for those suffering, in pain, dying, experiencing war, or hunger, or imprisonment.

"Lord, I know my load is light in comparison to so many in the world, but I offer this light load so that someone else may feel the relief that comes from your love and presence in his or her life."