Rinse. Wash. Repeat... or something like that.

God has been reminding me quite frequently of two things recently, which makes me realize that, 1) I'm a slow learner when it comes to life, and 2) God is a much more patient teacher than I am.

First off, it has been greatly impressed upon me lately that everything happens for a reason. We use this as a cliche' in Christianity when we don't have a good explanation for something, or when we are too lazy to think about it, but regardless of why, when or how we say it, it is true. I can't think of how many times I've been irritated by some circumstance or event, only to realize down the road that whatever irritation I was experiencing actually ended up benefiting me later. It reminds me of something a professor told me many years ago that always stuck with me, which was something along the lines of.... we are quick to recognize God's blessings when we get something we want, and quick to blame Satan when something "bad" happens or we are tested. Who are we to decide whether or not something God willed for our lives was good or bad? It is outside of our mental measure to realize the enormous scope of even seemingly insignificant actions, much less the divinely ordained occurrences that we face in the every-day.

Secondly, God has been reminding me that other people really are more important than me, contrary to what I believe. There have been several occasions in the last few weeks where my schedule has been inconvenienced by someone else. Being the non-confrontational person that I am, I went along with the flow (griping to myself all-the-while), and ended up having some of "my precious time" eaten up because of it. It was only after I was frustrated and perturbed by my inconveniences that I learned the persons responsible for my loss of time were facing some significant personal hardships in their lives, and thus my ego was deflated instantly. It reminds me of Paul's words in Philippians that we often glaze over. When I read this passage, the ideal seems so unattainable to me because I, like most of the westernized world, am far more self-centered than I want to be, or would ever like to admit. Anyway, Paul says it much better than I could, so I leave you with this.

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (NASB)

"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross." (NLT)