The Annoyances

Today I had to go to the tag and title place. I have a tendency to leave my registration renewal until the last minute, so I'm there more than the average person, I think. Tag and title is not the most jumping location on State Street. But today, I was not the only person in line.

The gentlemen ahead of me were transferring a title. This is apparently not a quick process; they were in line before I arrived and then I waited for half an hour. During that half hour, one of the gentlemen constantly played with the change in his pocket. It was bothersome.

At one point he left to remove the dealer's license plate. It's hard to explain the absence of noise. I didn't even notice. Until he returned and immediately, continuously played with the change in his pocket.

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What's bothering you today? Noisy neighbors, never-ending chores, or co-workers that are hard to work with? Anxiety, discontentment, or physical pain?

If you are a Christ-follower, one day that will all fade away. 1 Peter 1:6 promises us, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials."

These trials are temporary. But unlike a toothache which can heal but still twinge our memory now and then, in that day our troubles will dissolve as completely as the man and his change walked out the door and I didn't think of it anymore.

Not everything we face is as insignificant as the man and his change. There is "the annoying", and then there is "the oppressive." The daily physical pain is not insignificant. The broken marriage is not insignificant. The job you hate is not insignificant.

But they are temporary.

In this I greatly rejoice! These trials are but temporary. What temporary struggles are you facing today?