FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEY

I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough; I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor. Philippians 4:12

You are in the dreaded parking lot of a big grocery store on a mission. You just want to pop in and out to get your few items then get back home. The parking lot is full as usual, with no parking spot in sight. You are alert to the hazards: cars backing and circling, people haphazardly walking, children running from the parents, carts rolling, plastic bags flying, and birds strutting about in their little black tuxedo suits looking like dignified vagrants waiting for a crumb of food. It is organized chaos.

You finally see a car backing from its spot, and your opportunity to park is within grasp. You wait patiently, but you wonder, “What is this person doing?” The one backing out is maneuvering their car in a strange way, going forward an inch and back an inch, forward an inch and back an inch, over and over again. You finally realize that this person is trying to turn their car around in this tight isle to go out the wrong way. It’s very strange indeed, but patiently waiting is your only option as the driver has the whole isle blocked.

Finally, the driver manages to get the car turned around, but In a quick flash you see another car whip into the isle, the wrong way, and do a quick u-turn to slip into the spot for which you had been patiently waiting. For a moment, you think of doing a Kathy Bates move of ramming the car like in Fried Green Tomatoes.

Life is many times like a chaotic, overcrowded parking lot. We make plans and have dreams, but we get sidetracked with delays, interruptions, and push-backs. How do we keep from being angry all the time? Flexibility of waiting on the Lord and having a heart of thanksgiving is the key.

We can always find something for which to be grateful. That parking lot incidence, which happened to me, made me accept that on this particular day this parking spot was not for me. It was meant for someone else. I was, however, grateful I had legs to walk, a car to drive, money for groceries, eyes to see, and a heart to know that maybe the other person needed that parking spot more than I did.

Maybe you got passed over for that well-earned promotion. Maybe you did not receive the part in the play, the position on the team, or the date for the dance. Maybe the job for which you applied or the trophy for which you competed was given to someone else. We are in on the secret that Paul had learned to obtain contentment. We can either feel angry, accomplishing nothing, or we can use our flexibility muscle to wait, pray, and give thanks while God stretches and molds us to His likeness. We may not have a choice on our position, but we certainly have a choice in our attitude.

Thank you, Lord, for helping me during times of trials. I will wait on You. Amen.