Tree Bark and Water Drips

As I walked around at work last night, I started to notice an irritating, burning skin sensation on the back of my foot above my heel. I figured that I must have scratched it at some point although I couldn't think when or where. I tried to ignore it, but the more I ignored it, the more noticeable it became.

Finally, after about thirty minutes, I thought I'd take a look. There, just inside my sock, on the very spot that was offending me, was a teeny tiny piece of what looked like tree bark. Don't ask me where that came from; it's not like I climbed any trees prior to coming to work.

Once I removed this speck from my sock, the pain went away, just like (snap) that! Now why did it take me so long to check it out? However, I was willing to live with some irritation because I thought it was a scratch and I had no choice, but to make the best of it.

By the same token, there are tiresome little things in life -- like a child asking "why" for the 611th time in an hour, or the phone ringing with another telemarketer for the 71st time this week. Or how about when you are really tired, and as you sit on the couch for just a minute, you discover a dish with dried maple syrup and the remains of a pancake. Even better -- how about tiny, scratchy crumbs of an unknown variety in the bedsheets? Or when you just want to make lunch for everyone and the pizza crust isn't turning out right and you discover that you have misread the instructions for the ice-cream mix and it actually does need to be frozen in the ice-cream freezer that is still missing parts?

Abrasive, irritating, annoying.

There are things in life that I can't change, things that get on my nerves, things that make me feel like a cat in a washing machine. What am I going to do about them?

If I think about the the constant sound of water dripping, drip, drip, drip, I know that it would get on my nerves.

But what if someone removed that source of water, and the eventual river it might create? Or the stalagmite that is amazing to look at in a cave would have never formed?

What blessings do we miss out on when we let little irritations ruin our day, our lives, instead of letting them shape us into something beautiful?

I'm not saying to let the tree bark in your sock allowing a sore to form, rather I'm saying, to handle the irritations with a little wisdom and a lot of grace.

Answer the "why" questions with a smile, thankful that your child has a mind to wonder.
Talk to the telemarketer and decline their offer politely. (Who knows, you may have been the first friendly voice they have heard all day.)
Be thankful that your family has food to eat, then find the guilty maple syrup culprit and have them do the dishes.
Hug the child who was eating in your bed and snuggle closer as you brush the crumbs away and watch the rest of the movie together.

Attitude. Boy oh boy, do I ever have days that I need help to keep it a good one and sometimes a leaky faucet, or tree bark in your shoe, is a good reminder.

Love,
Dianne