Skip to main content

a bottle of water

The bottle of water I bought this morning
On my way to class this morning I stopped to buy a bottle of water.  I always go to the same coffee shop because it is convenient, well-priced, and I want to support the new management which seems to be trying really hard to change the mediocre reputation the place had before.  Anyway, this morning I walked up to the counter and waited for the server who was busy tidying something up at the back of the serving station. 

As I was waiting, another person walked up to the counter and stood on my right, closer to the server.  I watched as the server turned, greeted the other person, took their order, and made her way to the cash register (where I was standing) to complete the transaction.  I felt my mouth drop open and my head shake ever so slightly, my annoyance at being overlooked coming through in my body language.  I was here first, lady! 

The server smiled at me and indicated that she would take my order while the other person was fishing for money in their purse.  I avoided her smile, pouting over the slight I felt at not being served first.  And yes, I delayed giving her my order because I was annoyed at not getting prompt service.  It makes no sense at all, I know.  Shooting myself in the foot, as they say.  It was then that I realised I was being absolutely ridiculous, so I gave her my order.  In fact, the server and I said the words "a bottle of water" at the same time because she knows what I always get.  When she returned with the water, I gave her the money, a small tip, and a smile.  As I walked away, I reprimanded myself for taking offense at something so small:  "Really?  You're going to get upset over a simple thing like that?  You were distracted when you came in, you know, on your iPhone, so perhaps the server did not think you were ready to order.  And the other person was very decisive and quick, you have to admit.  No need to take it out on the server who was only doing her job and doing it with a smile."  Okay.  I let it go. 

Due to some childhood experiences, I can be sensitive to being overlooked, and sometimes I still react inappropriately to situations that trigger feelings of unimportance, smallness, and insignificance.  Thankfully, most of the time I catch myself and make a choice to respond with understanding and patience instead of taking offense where none is meant.

This morning we had a guest speaker in class and she talked about the great freedom we all have: the freedom to love in all circumstances.  No one can take this choice away from us.  In good times and in bad, whether we are enjoying great success or things are being taken away from us, whether people love us and praise our efforts or they hate and despise us.  In every instance, we always have the choice to respond in love, offering kindness, grace, and a smile.  May I take advantage of this incredible gift of freedom more often.  Even when buying a bottle of water.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Names of God

The Hebrew word "YHWH" (read from right to left) This past Sunday I gave a talk on the Names of God, the beginning of a series on this topic. This first talk was to be a gentle introduction so I thought it wouldn't take too many hours of preparation. Well, I quickly discovered that the research is almost bottomless; every time I thought I had a somewhat definitive list of names, I found another source which added a few more or gave a different twist on some of the names I had already come across. After several hours I was getting overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data (and that was only looking at the Hebrew Bible). I wondered how I could present this to people in an orderly and accessible fashion and within a reasonable time frame. Not everyone is up for a 3-hour lecture crammed full of detail on a Sunday morning. So I took a break and spent a bit of time meditating on this problem and asking the Spirit for guidance. And then I thought that being overwhelmed by Go
3 comments
Read more

it's a mad mad mad world (of theology)

The mad dash for the end of term has begun.  I have finished all my required readings and have jumped into research reading.  One of my papers is on the madness of theology (the correlation seems more obvious to some of us than to others).  Truly inspiring stuff, I am finding.  Let me share a few quotes here: There is a certain madness in Christianity – in a desert God who is jealous and passionate, in a saviour who speaks in apocalyptic terms, in a life of sacrificial love, in the scandal of particularity.   In principle, a confessional theology should bear the mark of this madness, but the mark or wound must constantly be renewed. - Walter Lowe, "Postmodern Theology" in The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology , 2007.   “In the Scriptures the odd phenomena constituting the ‘Kingdom of God’ are the offspring of the shock that is delivered by the name of God to what is there called the ‘world,’ resulting in what I call a ‘sacred anarchy.’   Consider but a sampling o
10 comments
Read more

comedic timing

Comic by Joel Micah Harris at xkcd.com One of my favourite jokes goes like this: Knock, knock. Who's there? Interrupting cow Interrupting cow w--- Moooooooo!! Timing is important in both drama and comedy. A well-paced story draws the audience in and helps it invest in the characters, while a tale too hastily told or too long drawn out will fail to engage anyone. Surprise - something which interrupts the expected - is a creative use of timing and integral to any good story. If someone is reading a novel and everything unfolds in a predictable manner, they will probably wonder why they bothered reading the book. And so it is in life. Having life be predictable all of the time is not as calming as it sounds. We love surprises, especially good surprises like birthday parties, gifts, marriage proposals, and finding something that we thought was lost. Surprises are an important part of humour. A good joke is funny because it goes to a place you didn't expect it to go. Sim
Post a Comment
Read more