It has been a very long few days. The Club re-opened on Thursday, which is really good! Friday was games night at St. Peters and yesterday was Harvest Festival with two services and guest preachers. Needless to say the past few days have been lots of preparation, lots of running around, and still completing my usual daily tasks. Along with work, activities at the house are constant and there are always issues to resolve. So, it's been a little crazy.
Amidst the craziness, lack of sleep, excitement for new endeavors, and a little stress it seemed appropriate that there would be some times of complaining. I think complaining is a natural activity for humans. We always find something wrong, we are never completely happy, and we always want something more. It is so natural and easy to complain!
The other day I was at the bus stop with one of my housemates; we were headed to the church office. We were fortunate to have one another to complain to. It was early, we were tired, and each had extremely long lists of things that needed to be accomplished by the end of the day. We took turns venting and complaining to one another for about 10 minutes when this little, old lady, who was also waiting for the bus, interrupted. She apologized for listening in and interrupting, but she wanted her turn to complain as well. It was too perfect! She was elderly, lived by herself, and has been having issues with the other people in her building. She just wanted to complain to someone about it, so she wouldn't have to think about it anymore. We all smiled, laughed, and swapped complaints together. As we got on the bus she told us how grateful she was that we had waited together that morning, because she really needed it. She said that now she could let it go and move on with her day.
The woman touched my heart. As I sat on the bus heading to the office for what was going to be another very long day, I knew that it was going to be a good day. I couldn't stop smiling and I knew that I had seen God in the woman. He was there saying, "Yes, it's okay to complain, I hear you, I'm with you, you are not alone, and everything is going to be okay." It was exactly what I needed. I felt a sense of calm and peacefullness that can only come from moments like those. It helped me to let some things go and move on. It also reminded me that after complaining the important thing is to be able to move past it, to let it out, let it go, and move on with the day. Nothing ever goes perfectly, many times it won't turn out how we want it to, but we just have to remember that through all of it, we are not alone. Friends, family, co-workers, people we meet at bus stops we all have parts of our lives we complain about, but God hears us, He listens, He is with us, and with Him, everything is going to be okay. Blessings.
