Intention vs. irritation…

Today marked the last day of house-sitting for some friends. It was a very interesting 3 weeks, watching not just the house, but 5 dogs as well – they have three and we have two…This is quite a daunting task if all of them are completely different breeds, and all of them have their own way of doing things. We love animals and we love people, and forgive me for placing the two synonymously, but here is what happened…

House-sitting was fun, and everyday had a new and exciting adventure that came with the canine friends. Everyday, at least one of them will make sure that they walk in front of us, or trip us, or even run into us.

Occasionally, especially our pups, would walk ahead and then stop abruptly in the middle of our walkway, just to look back and see if we are okay, or still coming. I have seen many friends and strangers do exactly the same thing, especially in malls.

Of course the first reaction, and maybe this is just me, is to get irritated, frustrated, mad, or even just downright nasty. Let me side track for a moment. A while back I drove down a street in Brooklyn and there was a dove strolling across the road, blissfully unaware of my car. When it eventually saw my car, it continued to stroll, and I had to come to a solid halt to avoid sending the poor birdie to vet-hospital.

Immediately I was irritated, why did this bird stroll across the street, and why did it continue strolling when it saw me? In the midst of feeling frustrated with this bird, I felt the Holy Spirit saying: “Do you think the dove did this on purpose?”. As I felt those words in my heart I started laughing…of course not, the birds intention was to get across the street, not to be spiteful and walk in front of me. He had his head on something and he wanted to complete that mission…

Do you see where I am going with this? We get irritated and frustrated too easily, because we think that the intention is malicious, but put yourself in the bird/puppy/persons shoes and you will realize, their intention is to complete a mission, or to help, or really just innocent and pure. Do not get irritated at others’ intentions. “But what if their intentions are not good?” you ask, well being irritated only wastes your precious time, so just keep on living as though no-one has bad intentions.

I am not asking us to be naïve, oh, no, I am asking us to stop wasting time by getting frustrated over people/animals that are solely just in their own bubble, and yes it might be that they are selfish, but this need not affect you, taking other peoples responses personally, puts you in the same seat. Ask yourself today, are you irritated or do you understand the intention?