More From Helen Pain

It is wonderful to become aware of God’s promptings to take notice of something that I have totally ignored up until then, especially when it is in answer to a prayer.

I cannot now remember whether I had prayed about small annoyances in daily life before the Christmas morning I wrote about in my devotion for today, but it was certainly the start of some serious reflection about where my annoyances come from. Many times we feel annoyed because something around us has been done differently from how we were shown to do it as children. Of course, we all know that our annoyances really come from self-centeredness and wanting things done our way. I often want to do things my way, and it can be difficult for me to compromise because I can see only the negative aspects of something having been done a different way.

We all will need to tackle challenges in the way that we are uniquely equipped to do, but the Bible makes it clear that love for others is the first step. Love can help us appreciate the other in a new light. In my case it helped me to give full rein to thanking the Lord for my loving, caring, helpful husband, and to ponder the insignificance of the small differences in the ways we do things. I still shake out the balled-up dishcloth, but it is now done without thinking about it and even with a smile! Most of the time. . .