Little Irritations --- Another View

I think sometimes God speaks to each of us, a small still voice that we have to be looking for in order to hear. It’s an attitude of wanting to hear, and wanting to do God’s will that helps us be aware of these small calls. It’s been my experience that acting on those calls, even if I am not SURE it is His call, leads me to a more peaceful life. God made us for a reason, doing His will for us, finding the reason He made us, will bring us joy. This He also wills for us.

But sometimes the call is not so small. Sometimes God does not let us sleep at night, witness the call to Samuel. Sometimes God calls us to do something so outrageous that we can’t help but notice it --- although unfortunately we may often answer those loud calls with a: “What! Me? You CAN’T want ME to do that!” But He can, and he does. And if He gives us some huge task, He promises that He will also give us the means to accomplish it --- if we but trust Him. But the quiet call and the loud call are not things which I am thinking about this afternoon. This afternoon I am thinking (again) about irritations.

I’ve largely gotten over irritations with things. Things just are, and being irritated with them won’t change them. Being irritated over things is silly. But people, oh, people can irritate me sometimes. Usually people irritate me when they are not as aware of the truth as I am, are not as considerate as I am, are not as wise as I am. (“Yeh, stupid, I’m talking to you,” are words I may sometimes feel like saying --- but never do.) If my soul is at ease, I can overcome most of my irritations by recognizing that some people are similar to things: they are the way they are, and being irritated with them won’t change them. I’ve gotten better at not being irritated at things I once was irritated at. But sometimes not.

This morning I was again irritated at a small thing, and I let my irritation be shown. It was only afterwards as I reflected on what happened that I had a new insight: sometimes God calls to us in a small, still voice, and sometimes He calls to us in a large, loud voice, but sometimes He just calls, and calls, and calls, and calls, and calls --- and it irritates us to all heck! But He is trying to tell us something, and we’re just not paying attention --- we’re too busy getting mad and losing any peace or attention we had.

You have those irritating situations, too. You know them, and can rattle them off without even thinking --- because you think about them so often. Your spouse always interrupts you while you’re watching your favorite television show. He always tells you directions, when you know the way. She always asks you to remember something to buy at the store while you are driving and can’t write it down. The kids always scream at the dinner table. Mom always gives you detailed instructions, like you were a little baby. Dad always expects you to dress like HE’D dress, not like your friends. Your friends always call you at the wrong time. And you’d like to tell them all: “Will you just cut it out!”

Always, always, always --- and it just irritates you to think about it.

When you think the word “always” about a situation, it may be that God is calling, and calling, and calling. Would you tell Him: “Will you just cut it out!?” I think perhaps when we have something which is a constant irritation to us, it may be an opportunity to hear God’s call. Certainly God does not want us to live our life in irritation. Worrying and being angry about little things must be keeping our minds and hearts from being concerned about things of REAL importance. But if indeed our irritation is God calling and calling and calling, do you think HE deems it a matter of little importance?

Our relationship with other people, our family and our neighbors, is no small matter. He issued a commandment about our relationship with them. He said we must love them.

When we recognize that we are in a pattern of ALWAYS being irritated about something or someone, it is a time for prayer and reflection. Is God trying to tell me something here? What if He were in my shoes in these irritating situations? Would He be acting as I do? Would He just be getting irritated at the situation, and perhaps irritating others? Just WHAT would He do? What would He do? How would He react to the other person? How would he treat them? When someone constantly irritates us we want THEM to change, but if we can put God in our shoes perhaps we can see how He would react to the situation. I can’t imagine God losing control over the actions of any human being; I can’t imagine Him at a loss for WISE words. Perhaps if I can imagine Him in my shoes, I can be the one to change. I can imitate Him, and be who He would want me to be, who He made me to be.

My irritation this morning? The silly thing about having more food given me at the restaurant than I wanted or ordered, and so it was thrown away. I can afford the food, but it irritated me to order and pay for food, only to throw it away. I thought about that as I drank my coffee and glanced at the paper. Then I looked at things a different way. If I am going to pay for food, it is for food to be eaten --- but it doesn’t have to be me. In short order I realized that I was stopping at a restaurant on Sunday after mass largely to read the paper before going to mom’s. The breakfast order which was causing irritation was largely because everyone else did that at the restaurant, not out of hunger – an eleven o’clock breakfast could change into a noon lunch at mom’s. Further, my mind went to the food I DID want to buy: the request from the local Capuchin soup kitchen for Christmas meals for the poor. Money’s been a bit tight this month, and I was debating what to donate.

I’ll stop trying to buy Sunday breakfast in the future. I’ll order a coffee and read the paper, and leave a 300% trip. I’ll save around $10 each Sunday, so I’ll write a $500 check to the soup kitchen when I get home tonight. I trust that God will find the money somewhere. And the food I purchase for the soup kitchen WILL be eaten. I probably won’t lose any weight by skipping Sunday breakfast, but I will lose an occasional irritation, an irritation over a small thing. Okay, God, I finally listened, and I heard. You can stop calling now ----- about this thing.

You might take some time this Sunday afternoon to think about those things which always irritate you. Is God trying to tell you something? Or does He have to call, and call, and …