Heavenly Sandpaper
My daughter, granddaughter and I – out of just a suggestion to make a subtle change in their coffee table – suddenly found ourselves with said coffee table in their barn making drastic changes to it! That was back in November!
We talked about how this coffee table was where Alexia got her standing-up bearings and making her way around it when she was a baby. It held precious 20+ years of memories. Big memory books are kept in the drawers of it, along with cozy throws for keeping out the chill in a room!
I should have known better than to have made that suggestion to my daughter. She promptly sent Alexia and me to the hardware store to get stain remover. We returned and the coffee table was already in the barn. In a matter of minutes, the entire table was stain-naked. Then it was sanding it down for any paint still on it. Lots and lots of sanding! We all took turns with the power sander!
Don’t we wish there was such a thing as power sanders to those people we encounter who create much frustration in our lives. We pray: “God, please help me show them extra grace! Please help me tolerate their talk – talk – talking; their whining, complaining, and even their smack talking.”
“And, also, God could you pour on an extra amount of patience with that slow driver in the fast lane, the rude guy, the coworker who refuses to apologize, the ungrateful friend, and the demeaning family member?”
Maybe it’s like the coffee table who needs a refinish. Just a little this and that can make it brand new. Not so easy with difficult, cranky people. How can we respond like Jesus?
Here’s the rub. Go ahead. Get the sandpaper. What if God put those people in our lives to be “heavenly sandpaper”? Although we are irritated, God may be using them to take off our rough edges. God is more interested in our character than our comfort.
What if they happen to be the coffee table aka project and we’re supposed to look past their behavior to see their pain. Hurt people will often hurt people. They are full of fear and insecurity. Maybe they’re shouldering a pressure we don’t know about.
Instead of dismissing the frustrating people from our life, maybe we should look at them as a gift from God to help us become more like Christ. Frustration reveals something in us, and we can give it to God by having a change of heart.
• “God, help me to be more patient.”
• “God, help me to be better at apologizing.”
• “God, help me to be more thankful.”
Frustration also gives us the opportunity to show grace to others. One of the reasons God has forgiven us is so that we can reflect this forgiveness to others. Sandpaper or not – Lord, help us make something beautiful out of our furniture AND our friendships!