Frustration...

Grr...it's one of those days where nothing seems to work out the way I want it to. I guess you could say it's a Murphy's Law day; you know, one of those days where if it can go wrong it will? The one good thing is that our power is staying on today. It went out yesterday--while I was in the middle of editing a manuscript.

Today's major source of frustration: people. I want peace and quiet to work, and everyone decides to talk to me or come to wherever I am to have a conversation with someone else. A couple of times I wanted to talk to someone about something, but I couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Sigh.

Life is far from perfect. I know this, just as every other human being knows this. I think even my cat knows it. In his case, if life were perfect, the weather would always be in the mid-seventies and sunny and not humid so he could spend hours outside doing whatever it is he does when he goes out. Considering the weather's been in the upper eighties to low nineties and really humid and a little stormy, he hasn't been going out much or for very long.

I was reading my Bible this morning, and I came across this verse (Psalm 27:14):

Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

It seems like I always come across this verse when I get impatient or frustrated. And that little reminder that everything will happen in God's time helps. Of course, that doesn't keep me from getting frustrated, as evidenced by most of this post. I'm human, after all, and the first to admit that I'm far from perfect. But there's another verse I ran across again this morning that helps me when I feel like I can't deal with everything on my own (Deuteronomy 31:8):

"And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed."

What a relief to know that God is with me! He knows I'm frustrated. If I'd do the smart thing and ask for His help in dealing with the frustration first until waiting until I'm ready to scream, my life would be a whole lot easier. But I do like most people and try to take care of it on my own before praying about it. You know what? As I've learned repeatedly over the years, what I can do on my own is nothing compared to what happens with God's help.

So, now I'm offer to pray for the strength to deal with this latest round of frustration. I may be saying that prayer a lot as new frustrations appear, but I know God hears me. I just need to remember to follow that old saying, "Let go and let God."