Construction

My commute to the office is usually between 45 and 60 minutes each way. To some people that may be too long but to me it was short compared to going downtown for my prior employer. Winter ended and construction season began in the Chicago area so this has added on at least a half hour each way depending on the time of day. I am geographically challenged so I often get lost. That use to cause anxiety for me, now it just annoys me. I push myself to adapt, be flexible and find alternative routes. Initially my frustration increased and I was irritable by the time I reached the office or home. I can’t help wondering if hormones and menopause symptoms are the real contributors to my response. In any event as I sit in traffic on the toll way, feeling the sun, choosing to relax or maybe forcing myself to exhale and remind myself I am the one driving myself crazy (I can hear and clearly visualize my daughter, Crystal’s admonishment). Anyway I was driving really fast (20 miles an hour) I noticed my newly manicured (3x in my life) nails and smiled since I recently stopped biting my nails. At that moment I realized I was biting my nails as a coping mechanism the last two years and this habit began when I changed my eating habits. That’s kind of funny; I was eating nails instead of food. For me, overeating was a coping response and so was nail biting. The lesson is anytime we change or remove something we replace it with something else even if the switch is unintentional. Are you wondering if I replaced nail biting with overeating again? I must confess I was heading in that direction and gave credit to the 10+ additional pounds to hormones once again. Men can relate to this excuse from women. Since I am identifying it at this moment I will not use it as an excuse. So here I am with beautiful nails, extra weight, struggling with irritation, impatience and I ask what am I suppose to be learning? Duh, the answer is a better, positive coping response. For me this will be continual gratefulness. From breath to employment, transportation to housing, all the evidence of the Creator who accepts my flaws through the cleansing blood of Jesus to the astounding fact that Father God loves me. That’s right; He loves me no matter what so I will be grateful and turn it into praise. I can praise and worship Him with a grateful heart in my car, driving through the construction, in the traffic to the office where I can choose to make a positive impact. As workers reconstruct the road I will reconstruct my attitude daily. One of the musical groups I listen to during the drive is NewWorldSon and their song “There is a way” is an encouragement and reminder: there is a way, there is a spark, there is a hope that you can hold on to, there is a lifeline come to the rescue, just like a hand that’s waiting for you. If you believe in this I promise this that you won’t be alone. There is a way – the Truth and the Life and the Way. Jesus says in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Let the construction continue!