Just Breathe...When Jesus made Starbucks that much better!!!!

I don't fully remember everything about this story about Alexander and his bad day, but I know he went through a series of events in which he felt ruined his day. Friday seemed like that to me. 

To summarize it had been an upsetting Thursday evening as two adults a daughter and mother argued momentarily. The Daughter at time just feels that there is a lack of respect especially since she is 31. The daughter basically feels the mother wanted her to jump when the mother said jump, but the daughter feels that if she is asking for a moment before jumping that should have been respected. When trying to express that feeling the mother either missed the concept of respect or doesn't feel the daughter is owed that respect so not wanting to go into it any further the daughter forfeit, the mother having the last word, nothing being resolved for the daughter, so the daughter was distraught in her feeling of  being treated like 13 year old instead of a 31 year old. 

So Friday is a new day and of course everything is as if nothing occurred the previous evening, the daughter is expected to smile and go about her day still pretty hurt about the night before. There are bigger concerns anyway or at least other concerns that are creating some disheartening scenarios for her career. Its a matter of calm and collected matched with anxiety and adhd. Making sure there is a team effort but recognizing the one terrible trait of teachers who have their ideas and although express a face of i am considering your idea really just have their own idea in mind. Two teachers unifying, two sort of different styles, we do have to collaborate, so the daughter/teacher is hoping that when the dust of getting class rooms set up and meetings settles their will be a better amount of what collaboration feels like to her. 

So with those things on her mind she is ready for Friday and the big event(s) a training and a meet and great cook out for students.  She leaves the house pretty early knowing that there are higher expectations or at least hoping there are higher expectations of her this year. When she starts the car she realizes she forgot to grab her Starbucks frappe she had bought knowing she would need them this week. She said it's early enough I will run over to 7/11. Bag in hand she goes over to her car and the gentleman next to her says: Have a great day! She says: "You too." At the car trying to put the car clicker to unlock the doors it happens so quickly with the bag slipping  from her fingers like it was never in her hands and in an instant the glass bottle of the Starbuck Frappe shatters. In that instant that daughter/teacher wanted to shatter into tears upon the same ground next to the glass and the now spilling drink. The gentleman who hadn't left immediately enquired about what happened and offered to buy another but she said, that's ok, I probably wasn't suppose to have it. That is the statement we like to go to when something doesn't quite go our way. Its a way of getting over the anger. Because in  her head she wanted to snap and curse and cry, but knowing that doesn't solve anything she just got in the car and took a deep breath (after wiping her pant leg) and went on to the next part of her day. 

On the short drive to the school she assessed the situation because she as a daughter/teacher she is always reflecting looking the way things were handled. She wondered if her "have a great day" "you too" response wasn't truly heartfelt and honest. Was it really a matter of she didn't need the coffee drink? Does God allow for such situations because he feels you don't need the coffee or was it to stun you to slow you down because your eyes aren't truly open to that morning. Why would God allow for your money to shatter? I mean that's what was really being thrown away. Or was it one of those moments when he allows something bad to happen so that you see him again? Or is just an accident? 

She never really got an answer. She just breathed let it go and drove away.  She went on to do what she needed to do prior to going the training and even though it was a terrible training (well boring and stressful as there are some new things put in place to make things tedious for spec ed teachers) she was with a few colleagues who she respected, a new person who seemed to get it and appearance of camaraderie with the other spec ed teachers of the building.  

Basically the day got better. A certain amount of  the hurt from the previous night washed away, and the stress of teaching was washed away with a successful Meet and Greet BBQ. Principles were jolly and the new superintendent was even around speaking with teachers, parents, students, and custodians.  

So maybe there wasn't a lesson in the shattered coffee. Or maybe there is, but it won't be understood until later. Or maybe the lesson is "everything is going to be alright." And that is usually true. We stress out regularly. We worry about so many things throughout the day, but really if we just let it go and recognize that God has our path set and does all he does it for a reason, we could cool out a bit.  

And there it is...the answer... worry had overtaken the mind. There is no need for worry. Looking back at the past 3 days, worry was apart of all of them. Even though everything seemed calm. And if anyone remembers in Matthew Jesus uses parables to teacher certain aspects about God. Don't worry because God has your back is one of the biggest teaching. Momentarily that lesson was lost.  It took a shattered coffee drink to help wake up out of the fog of worry. 

With tomorrow here maybe I will be able to grab a coffee and drink it with the peace of the Lord over me.