Mabel

Years ago, right out of college, I worked for an insurance agency as a policy writer.  The other policy writer, Mabel (not her real name), had a desk which faced mine.  Mabel checked her numbers out loud, usually about six times in a row.  When she finished a policy, she walked with it across the office, put it in the finished basket, came back to her desk, then walked back to check it again.  Now I could probably diagnose her.  Then… it was simply irritating and distracting, and I wished she would just check things once, and let it be.  When Lent came that first year, I decided to take Mabel on for Lent.  Every time she did something that bugged me, I prayed for her, silently, at my desk.  I prayed a lot that Lent.  I prayed for Mabel, for me, for a fuller understanding and tolerance.  By the time Easter came, I had begun to see Mabel in a different light.  She still checked her numbers at least six times.   But somehow it did not bother me the way it had before.  I was a lot softer with her.  She and I even shared some jokes on occasion.  I still think of the year I took Mabel on for Lent… and smile.

Consider this:

Is there a problematic person, a situation, over which you have no control?  Would you consider making the situation or the person the focus of your prayer for the season?  Anonymously, of course.  I have found it amazing what God can do when I ask God*s help.  Who or what would you take on for Lent?  It*s never too late to start.