Ephesians 3:20-21 – I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.

Gratitude Day 670

The food order had gone all awry. And we just needed to figure it out.

“Hopefully you can help me out,” the phone call began.

Another Diane, who is a volunteer for our weekend school food program called Blessings in a Backpack as well as the food pantry, called me. One of the food pantry volunteers had picked up a food order at the local grocery store and dropped it off at the food pantry. But … the items on the deliver seemed a little strange to Diane. Twenty cases of oatmeal? Twenty cases of hot chocolate? Did I know anything about these items?

As it turns out, yes, we had ordered oatmeal and hot chocolate for our Blessings program this week. One of the “shoppers” had texted me earlier in the day that she had picked up the order and dropped them off at our packing location; 20 boxes of oatmeal and 20 boxes of hot chocolate. The other shopper shared with me that when she placed the order, the person who normally takes the orders was on vacation. One of the other grocery store employees helped her out but seemed a little confused about the order.

It appears that there WAS some confusion about the order. While Blessings received our original order, ANOTHER order for 10 times the original order amount was also placed. Diane was able to divert the order from the food pantry and get it delivered to our Blessings packing location. Let’s just say we have plenty of oatmeal and hot chocolate for the Blessings program right now! Good thing cooler weather is coming up!

It’s such an easy mistake. One we quickly figured out and understood what happened. One that put a smile on my face and a chuckle in my response.

When these kinds of things happen, we choose what happens next. Do we get upset? Or do we simply laugh and be thankful we have a whole bunch of extra food right now?

When I make mistakes, I am often hard on myself and probably harder on myself than anyone else. It is humbling when little boo-boos are made. But let’s think about it. Was anyone severely hurt? Is it a life or death situation? Will it dramatically change something else?

If not, move on. Keep perspective. Laugh and be happy it is not worse.

Yes, this may seem too casual of a response for some people. But there are too many days when we make a mountain out of a molehill and over-react. Yes, there ARE things that are a big deal and should be treated appropriately. But then, there are a whole bunch of things that happen and become a big deal because we make them into this. We react in such a way that we expect immediate response and apologies and things to be fixed. Yes, sometimes this should happen.

And other times? Move on.

A number of years ago, I saw a saying that went something like this:

If what is happening right now will not matter in five years, then do not give it more than five minutes of your time.

While there are things in life and this world that are earth-shattering and life-changing, there are also a whole bunch of things that happen every day that are just normal life. What is important is understanding and recognizing the difference between the two. One set of circumstances, we go to the wall to make sure things get taken care of. The rest? We see them as an itty-bitty bump in the road and keep moving on.

Lots of things can go awry in your life today. YOU, and only you, will chose how you respond. If it’s a monumental deal, then go to the wall for it. But if it’s not? Then keep perspective. Fix what needs to be fixed and move on. Enjoy this journey of life every day and keep yourself from putting energy into the wrong things. Please.

The other Diane is going to the grocery store today and make sure that Blessings gets billed for the extra cases of oatmeal and hot chocolate. And this will be the end of the story. We’re moving on … with a little chuckle in our lives to go along with it.

Maybe there will be a shortage of oatmeal in the upcoming months, and we’ll be glad we have it. More likely, I see this as an opportunity to say to God, “Sometimes things happen. I get to choose how I respond. Help me choose the appropriate response today.”

The glory should go to God for all we have in this life; even the excess. We get to go along for the ride. Let’s ask for help as we make choices about what we see as big and monumental and what is just another part of regular, ordinary life.

For perspective when things go awry and I just need to chuckle, I am grateful.

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God, too often I look at a situation and get bothered by something that really is just a normal part of life. Help me keep perspective. Remind me to chuckle more and bemoan less. When things go awry, help me turn to you for guidance on when to make it a big deal and when to simply move on. Amen.