Do you ever get frustrated with things you can't control. Yeah, me neither…um, me, too. Here are a couple of examples.
It was a perfect day for fishing. My kids and I were on a "can't miss" 10 acre lake and we had been catching fish nearly every cast. After a great session at daybreak and a late breakfast, I paddled the little jon boat out for session 2 and immediately we were caught. The wind blew us across the little lake regardless of how hard I tried to fight it. I threw out our anchor, a bunch of bricks tied together with rope, and they wouldn't hold. I aimed the little boat for a piece of protected water but after several minutes we were pretty much in the same place. Almost out of breath from paddling I yelled at the top of my lungs, "aaarghhhh!" and we drifted to shore. When I looked at all 3 of the kids they had the biggest eyes I've ever seen. I apologized and told them I was frustrated with the wind. We ending our fishing and set out for the dock paddling once again against the wind.
A couple of weekends back it happened again. Waking up the temperature was a nice 63 degrees. Arriving at the baseball field we stepped out to "gale" force, chilly northern winds. After 4 hours of dropping temps and wind chill my body was worn out, my face felt whipped, my lips were chapped and my eyes were itching. If I hadn't been so cold I would have screamed again.
As I think about it now I was ultimately frustrated with me and my expectations. I had hoped to have a rare "perfect" outing or at least no inconveniences. I had imagined everyone having a great time, but then there was the wind!
There are many things I can't control and getting frustrated at them has yet to help. So, I must continually redefine my expectations in light of reality. Add God and prayer to that mix and, well, that really is the place to start. All of my human effort, rowing against the wind and trying to get out of its reach, leaves me frustrated. Instead of struggling I could have adjusted my expectations or been prepared for something a little less than perfect. Then, when things are out of my control I exhibit self-control and focus on what matters.