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Coffee And... Mutter, Gripe & Grumble
by Louise Bergmann DuMont (Louise's bio)
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I gagged and sputtered as a long swallow of cold coffee slipped the wrong way down my throat.
“Oh great! The perfect addition to an already deteriorating day,” I muttered, wiping away several spots of coffee that were about to stain my suit jacket. I tossed the napkin into a trashcan and stared at the dozen half filled moving boxes that stood along side it.
“Morning!” a voice chirped passing by my desk.
“Glad you didn't say 'Good morning,'” I grumbled in reply.
Doing a quick double take, my friend returned. “What? You aren't having a good morning?” she asked still smiling.
I tossed a crumpled piece of packing paper in her direction without reply.
My friend caught the paper and threw into the trash. “Hey, you don't have to get physical. I think you need a cup of coffee. Ready for a break?”
“I don't have time,” I grumbled turning back to my boxes.
Without missing a beat she took my elbow and gingerly turned me toward the door. “Sure you do.” With a flourish she swept her arm over the boxes and continued confidently, “I'm sure these will be here when you get back.”
Over a nice strong cup of coffee I poured out my frustration. Moving my files and packing up my desk for the third time in four years was no fun. My coworker listened patiently and then responded with her usual maddening logic.
“I would have thought you'd be thrilled to be moving to the new area. You've complained all year that it's noisy where you are now. The traffic from the conference room right across the hall has been driving you nuts. Your new location is quiet and just about perfect. What's the problem?”
I stopped sipping my coffee long enough to let my jaw drop open just a tad. “Um, ah… it's just that I shouldn't have to move all my stuff again.”
I murmured. “Why should I have to move again when everyone else gets to stay put.”
“Maybe they moved you because they knew you didn't like where you were?”
“Well, I guess that could be.” I acquiesced. “But it just seems that…”
'“Enough,” she interrupted. “You wanted to get away from the noise and now you have the chance. Instead of wasting your energy complaining, start enjoying the fact that you got what you asked for!”
The discussion moved on to other matters and before I knew it our break was over and I was back in my little fort of boxes. A meeting across the hall was just letting out and the area was filled with people conducting last minute business.
As the din escalated, I slipped down the hall and around the corner to where my desk would soon occupy space. The quiet that surrounded me was like huge warm blanket on cold night. It both comforted and calmed me. My friend was right. I had to change my attitude. I'd asked God to get me away from that noisy location and now that He'd answered my prayer, all I could do was complain about having to pack a few boxes. I've always wondered how the Israelites could have mumbled about eating manna sent from heaven but here I was acting no better. God is patient with His children but He does not put up with their moaning forever. Was this really the way I wanted to thank God for answering my prayer?
I quickly lifted up a whisper of praise, “Thank you God for your patience despite my ingratitude. Thank you for providing good things for me even when I can't see your goodness in the gift. And thank you for loving me despite my pitiful attitude.”
I returned to my desk with a lightness in my step that hadn't been there for some while. There are times when a little attitude adjustment is all that we need to make the day a whole lot brighter.
And do not complain as some of them did.
1 Corinthians 10:10a
Copyright 2002, Louise Bergmann DuMont. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
| About Louise Bergmann DuMont: Louise Bergmann DuMont is the facilitator of the North Jersey Christian Writer's Group and a recent winner of CWG's 2001 conference scholarship. She has written for numerous local periodicals, journals and newspapers and recently began expanding her horizons to include more widely circulated publications. Louise's interests include gifted/learning-disabled children and fiction/fantasy writing. She is married and has three sons. E-mail Louise |
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