I regularly sit at a set of traffic lights waiting my turn in Manurewa.
It is like most other intersections in Auckland. Mad rush in the mornings. Most people looking tired, or grumpy or both!
But this intersection has these little areas they call 'bus lanes'. They are marked very clearly with signs on poles plus the road has this crazy green coloured seal on it.
You are probably wondering why I am telling this?

Well, those little bus lane make me grumpy. No it is not the bus lanes itself, it is the cheeky people who cue jump the rest of us and use them when they know they shouldn't. I sit there looking at them, thinking how I would like to do something that would 'punish' them or whatever.
If I am not careful I start to get angry. I start talking out loud about how rude they are....
I think you get the picture.

The problem is, is that all my ranting and raving, my getting upset...doesn't effect them in the slightest.
They don't even know about how unhappy I am. I am in my car...they are in theirs.

Today it happened again!
Plus someone ran a red light in front of me.
Plus someone cut me off on the motorway, while talking on their cellphone!

But today I tried something different. I said under my breath that I forgive them.
I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they really didn't mean to annoy me. And that felt much better.
Instead of arriving at work in a grump. I arrived chilled out.
Maybe there is something to this forgiveness thing that applies to simple everyday life...not just the big things.

The bible talks a lot about forgiving one another. God knew that it would an issue for us all our lives, and so reminds us about it again and again.
He tells us this because he knows if we let this stuff on top of us, that it will damage us...not necessarily the person we need to forgive.
He tells us this because he knows it could cause us to harden our hearts towards each others.

So the next time those 'little' things happen that could wind you up...
How about forgiving, letting it go...and maybe you will have a much better day?