The Way of the Dodo

Today started out as a good day. I woke up thinking about how I got to talk to my friend, Marcia, in Brasil on Skype last night. I got to work, bought some chocolate waxy donuts from the vending machine to have with my coffee for breakfast and started to work. When I got back from lunch someone had put 6 chocolate muffins from Perkins on my desk (wohoo!). Now I have breakfast for several days. My day was rolling along just fine until I picked up a phone call at 3:00pm. For the next oh, I don't know for sure...maybe 30-40 minutes I was on the phone with one of my borrowers listening to them complain about anything and everything and not giving me a chance to really answer any of their questions when he finally said, "Just what do you do there anyway because you don't seem to do it very well. I'm surprised you even got a job there." Needless to say, my day then went "the way of the dodo", as my friend, Michelle, says.

When I finally got off the phone with him I promptly made a sticky note with that telephone number to put by my phone b/c I will not talk to that borrower again. I then went and filled my supervisor in, who came over several times during the call and knew something was amuck. And I told her I will not be talking to this borrower again. If he calls he will get my voice mail and someone else can call him back. She said that was fine and that she would be calling him back as soon as he sent in what he said he was going to send in.

By the time I left for home I was calmer but still angry at this guy for how he treated me. And I began to tell God about it in my car. And God began to fill my mind with things like, "I died for him, too."..."He's created in my image just like you are"..."Maybe he just had a bad day when he called you"..."You need to pray for him". WHAT!!??!!?! Pray for him....um...no thanks God.

That's when He really convicted me. "You mean to tell me," (this is God scolding me) "that you think you he doesn't need prayer just b/c of the way he treated you? Hmmm, how many times have you treated me that way and people still pray for you..." The very core of me wanted to say (with a dramatic roll of my eyes) "Whatever" and just turn up the radio!!

Did you know that not even the radio can drown out the voice of God?

So what could I do but pray for the guy. I'm not saying I liked it but it did teach me, in a practical way, what it means to pray for your enemies. If any of you have heard Beth Moore speak on Loving Well you will know that this guy would fit in my "Testy" category... But God loves him the same as he loves me and he died for him the same as he died for me. And maybe this guy has no one else praying for him. And maybe my simple prayer in the car for this "stranger" in California will prompt the hand of God to move in this guys life...

Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Amen...