I can’t believe how fast my attitude changed! As a matter of fact, it encouraged me to go an extra mile in all that I do! What Am I talking about?

You see, my cashier job was beginning to get into my nerves.
As a minister, I need more time to do that which the Lord has called me to do! The only reason why I took up this job was to assist my needy mum, siblings, and my orphan nephews and nieces back in Kenya.

But the schedule is something else. It differs from one week to another. Anywhere from 6:00 AM-11:00 PM, Sunday-Thursday, and 6:00 AM-4:00 PM on Fridays. As though that was not enough, the last couple weeks, they have been assigning me register three, one of the lanes that no one wants.

As you can imagine, I was beginning to read too much into the whole saga, when the manager’s words changed all that. As if they read my mind, the manager called me to his office yesterday and said things that really humbled me. “I called you so as to tell you how much we appreciate you and your willingness to work flexible schedule and work at any lane without complaining. We are happy and proud to have you as one of us!”

All I did was to nod my head in appreciation, although deep inside heart, I was truly humbled. I even felt bad that I had started reading too much into stuff that did not exist.

While driving home from work, I found myself thinking of many people who become overly offended because either they do not have a clear picture of the situation,or fail to see the reasons behind the whole thing. And others also fail to see any benefits, if any, that will come with such. Some examples will suffice:

-This last December, I celebrated 28 years of marriage. Although I am good at making Mandazi-bread- and soup, I normally don’t like to cook. Why? Because I love my wife’s cooking. Besides my mother, I know very few women who can cook as good as my wife. I have therefore told my dear wife that the reason why I want her to cook is not because of the man thing but because I love her food.

-I love my church members so much that whenever I don’t see them at church on Saturday, I send them an e-mail telling them that I missed them. As you might guess,there are some who started to think that I was monitoring them until I made it clear that mine was based on love and nothing else.

-The only reason why I am concerned about who my children will marry is because I love them and don’t want to see them suffer.

-Although many people don’t like cops/police, their work is extremely important. They want to make sure that all are safe! An understanding of that will change our attitude towards the cops.

How about our God?

It’s important to note that our God more often than not, applies the same principle. How so? Note the following:

-When God wants to get our attention, He sometimes allows certain things to come our way so as to wake us up from our slumber.
-In the story of John, the Baptist, as found in the Gospels, the good Lord allowed him to die in prison, so as to become an encouragement unto many over the ages.
-The apostle Paul writing to the Hebrew believers said this” Because the Lord disciplines those that he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son/daughter.” (Hebrews 12:6.)

So, my dear friend, before you react or throw tantrums,please wait until you have all the facts. Will you?

Just a thought.

Pr Birai

– – –
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:35:18 -0800 [09:35:18 AM CST]
From: Absalom Birai
Subject: Re: The explanation changes the picture!