Now that Memorial Day is passed, summer has unofficially started (official start date isn’t until June 21st). Many of you will be heading to the beach at some point over the next couple months. For many it is their ideal vacation destination. The lazy days of lounging around, enjoying the surf, eating fresh seafood, walking on the beach as the sun sets are so satisfying for some. But while I appreciate some aspects of the beach (particularly the food), it is one of my least favorite places to go and for one main reason.
And that reason is SAND!!! I detest the sand. It gets everywhere. It’s in your hair, between your toes, and in other unmentionable places. And it is almost impossible to get rid of completely. Weeks after being at the beach and after multiple vacuuming efforts, I still can find it in the minivan. And wherever it may be on my body, it is irritating, which in turn makes me irritable.
In the same way as sand, John Mark Comer in his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, states that one symptom of being plagued by hurry sickness is irritability. What does that look like? Comer writes,
You get mad, frustrated, or just annoyed way too easily. Little, normal things irk you. People have to tiptoe around your ongoing low-grade negativity, if not anger. Word of advice from a fellow eggshell-expert: to self-diagnose, don't look at how you treat a colleague or neighbor; look at how you treat those closest to you: your spouse, children, roommate, etc.
A little too close to home? This happens when we live life at too fast of pace with too many commitments. The only way to get it all done is to not have anything knock you off-kilter. And when that bump in the road, in whatever form, big or small, occurs (as will inevitably happen), we lose it. One sure sign that this is an issue is when your response/explosion is out of proportion to the bump or when it distorts one’s perspective. For example, when you find yourself in a traffic jam due to an accident, do you find yourself simmering with anger because it’s making you late or ruining your plans or do you find yourself praying for those involved in the accident and those tending to them?
Saints, we must be willing to dig beneath the surface of our irritability to see its root causes. The way of Jesus is not one where every inconvenience or delay is viewed as a major attempt to oppose us and our plans. When we look at Jesus, we never see him irritated. Not with the crowds who seemed to only want to follow Him for the goodies He provided and the miracles He performed. Not with his closest disciples who kept making the same mistakes over and over again. And not even with us in our weakness and failures. Instead, He trusted in the sovereign providence of the Father. And He calls us to do the same.
