I am normally someone who doesn’t get offended easily. I don’t like conflict, so will usually do what I can to help bring peace to any situation. This day, about 2 years ago, was a whole other story.
Our older three kids were about 3, 5, and 7 years old at the time. I was still going through sleep deprivation and the usual chaos involved in running a house full of kids. This particular morning I was feeling rather proud of myself for getting out the door with the three kids and off to violin lessons on time by 8:30. I then spent the next hour keeping a 3 year old entertained while sitting in on the girls’ lessons, as well as their violin ensemble practice. Thursdays were always chaotic as I would then head out to do grocery shopping with two kids in tow. The kids knew the routine and were usually pretty good while out and about thankfully.
We pulled into the Aldi carpark, and it was packed! I spent the next 10 minutes driving around trying to find a park with no luck. Eventually as I came down one lane, I saw a man filling his boot with his shopping. I asked him if he was going and decided I would just sit tight and wait for him to be done. I moved the car out of the way and left my indicator on so people knew my intentions. At this point I was feeling rather calm, but keen to hurry and get the groceries done so we could get home, get the kids lunches, and get them down for a rest.
The gentleman finished his packing, took the trolley back, and proceeded to reverse. As he began to pull out, I could not believe what I was seeing in my side mirror. Some sneaky little black car was barging its way into MY space!! There was no way for me to even attempt to get there first as I had to wait for the gentleman to move. In that moment, the car zipped in and took the parking spot. I was furious!! I had been in the carpark now for over 15 minutes with two young kids in the back now arguing, and just like that the space was gone. In my frustration I tooted my horn and threw my arms up in the air with my mouth wide open in disbelief. How could someone be so rude?! I sat there dumbfounded as the lady got out of her car casually and walked off without even a glance my way. I was ready to turn around and just go back home, but knew that wouldn’t solve the problem of the empty fridge.
We were back to the start of looking for a park, which thankfully only took another 5 or so minutes. By the time I parked, got the kids out of the car, got our trolley, and walked into the shop, I glanced over to the checkout and saw the same woman finishing her shop. I’ll be honest, I may have given her a few evil eyes, but really, she was none the wiser. I tried to forget about the situation and calm myself down enough to deal with the kids while doing my shop.
As we drove out, much later than I would have liked, I couldn’t help but play the story over and over in my head. As I did, the more frustrated and worked up I became. I turned the radio up and tried my best to move on. I had to tell myself to just brush it off, as it was ruining my day, and that woman probably had no idea! There was no point in letting myself get worked up over something I couldn’t change. I didn’t know her story, and maybe she desperately needed to get somewhere in a hurry.
I didn’t realise how much this situation got to me until I pulled into the Aldi car park the following week. All of a sudden, I felt my heart rate increase and I began to feel quite anxious. There weren’t any parks straight up, so I had to wait again, but this time we managed to get a park fairly quickly. Once I pulled in my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I had to sit there for a few minutes before going into the shops. I sat there feeling ridiculously silly! Why was I feeling so anxious about such a simple thing as parking the car? How was it that one situation, one injustice, could affect me so badly?
I learnt a valuable lesson about the importance of forgiveness. So often we can go through life holding on to grudges and mishaps that affect our whole being. There are times when the person who begrudged us may be completely unaware of what has happened, and they are going about their days without a worry. There is no point in holding on to that, as it is our lives that are being affected. Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”. Through God’s grace, He helps us to forgive others as He forgave us.
