Ephesians 4:2 (NLT) “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of our love.”
Our inner clocks were ticking. We had been sitting here in our vehicle for over thirty minutes. As I looked over at Jared, all I could see was frustration, which made me laugh a little.
It was a typical day in Edmond, Oklahoma. The sun was shining, people were out and about, and all was busy during lunch hour traffic at the local fast food restaurants. We were visiting family at the time and we thought we would get a quick bite as we headed over to their house.
At times, my husband Jared struggles with being patient. We all have something we struggle with and this is the thorn in his side. I laugh every time he prays for help with this, because when He does, we are normally getting tested while shopping at Walmart or driving through a construction site, but today it was at Whataburger.
Now I hate to judge others, but normally I can tell how long our wait time will be in a drive-thru by watching how long it takes the person to order, how many people are in the vehicle, and if they have kids. All signs were pointing to “no wait time with this one.” Boy, was I wrong!
The lady in front of us started to order and order, and order. She continued this ordering evolution for what seemed like an eternity but was actually about fifteen minutes. As this was taking place, I looked over at Jared, who at that point, had buried his head in the steering wheel. I couldn’t help but sneaker. When we thought the ordering evolution was complete, she would add something else to the order. The ad-on process took another five minutes. Finally, when we thought she was done, the lady yelled out “Oh yeah, and one more large french fry.” After ordering everything off the menu, she pulled up to the window.
Now at the time, Whataburger off of I-35 had just opened and they had two lanes going into one drive-thru window. I will say though, the staff at Whataburger had this down very well and were able to shuffle people rather quickly, except for the lady in front of us. She had a hard time turning in the right line, which added another five minutes to the order.
When she finally got to the window, sack after sack came out into her vehicle. I was amazed at how much food had been ordered for just two people. When we finally got to the window, our first question was, (and who wouldn’t ask this by the way), “How much did this lady order?” To our amazement she ordered $78.84 worth of food, in a drive-thru! Who does that?! (Sad part is, I remember the exact receipt amount!)
Frustrations happen when we see others act in a selfish way. Sometimes though what we might think is selfish may not be to the other person. Some things we may not understand in their situation. Psalms 106:3 (NLT) says, ”There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.” We have joy not frustration, anger nor hate, but JOY in how we conduct ourselves and interact with others. Showing the love of Christ is crucial in completing what God is calling us to do.
Romans 2:4 (NLT) always resonates with me every time I read it because it makes me look within. It says, “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” This reminds me to see that patience and giving others the benefit of the doubt ultimately gives me joy in understanding others. It helps me with my lack of patience when I see how much patience God has given me.
Let us all strive to look at others first, serve others and truly live in joy!
As always, I’m learning right there with ya,
Thankful For His Grace,
Amy