Frustration

There it was. A piece of intimate apparel on the pavement next to my car. Unfortunately, it was mine. It had dropped off when I carried an overstuffed laundry basket into the Laundromat and had probably been lying there for about twenty minutes. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Have you ever had one of those days? Or maybe one of those weeks?

This week, I was without internet and a working dryer at home, two conveniences I’ve gotten used to and appreciated.

The dryer was broken for a week, but at long last, the repairman showed up at the house yesterday. With laundry overtaking our home, I was excited about being able to wash and dry clothes again. After he dismantled the dryer; however, he delivered the bad news. “I have one of the parts you need but the other one has to be ordered, and it will take a week to get it. The earliest we can repair the dryer is next Friday.”  Next Friday? No way!

So on yesterday afternoon, I hauled as much of our dirty clothes as I could to the coin operated laundry. It was a comedy of errors from the start. I needed heavy machinery to get the mounds of laundry into the Laundromat. I immediately realized times had changed and I didn’t bring enough quarters. Five dollars for the washer? Really? Then I spilled laundry detergent everywhere; I couldn’t get the door of one of the washers closed and tried to add a little force. Sensing my frustration, the laundry attendant immediately came over and helped me out. As I moved our laundry from the washers to the dryers I left a trail of clothes on the floor. So much for clean clothes.

I had forgotten how warm Laundromats were and after perspiration started rolling off my face, I peeled off my animal print jacket. At least I had internet access as the Laundromat was close enough to the restaurant next door to piggy back off their band width.

On my way home, with clean laundry piled up so high it was tough to see out the back window, my frustration overtook me. I still had a ton of errands to run and my husband was enjoying the afternoon at the golf course. I began to feel sorry for myself and tears trickled down my face.

But then conviction set in.

God reminded me of all the people who can’t afford a washer and dryer. There were Laundromat regulars at the place I went to. I am still able bodied. For some, carrying an over-full basket of laundry might be an impossible task. Our family had clothes to wear. That’s why there was so much laundry. God began to turn my thinking upside down and my frustration transformed into gratitude.

The definition of frustration is: “the feeling of being upset or annoyed, esp. because of inability to change or achieve something.” I was frustrated because I couldn’t fix the dryer and I couldn’t repair the internet, forgetting that God could fix my bad attitude.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 says,  “Frustration is better than laughter,because a sad face is good for the heart.” I have a better understanding of that verse now. Often times, it’s our frustration that draws us closer to God and in that time of communion with him, he is able to help us see life from his perspective, and that is good for the heart.

What are you frustrated about?  Take your frustration to God and ask him to enable you to see the situation through his eyes. Things look a lot different from a heavenly perspective. LBW