what frustrates you?

Yesterday afternoon I decided to take my Macbook to the local Mugg and Bean (coffee shop) and sit on the wireless internet doing a few updates and getting a few things sorted that I had started to feel were rather pressing. As I was locking my house the gate remote slipped out my hand and fell with a force greater than gravity against the floor. Smash.

Quickly forgetting the incident, I hopped into my car, drove up the driveway and approached the gate only to find, surprisingly, that the gate would not open. It is frustrating to be locked inside your own apartment. My blood pressure started to increase from now.

Arriving at my table I opened my Mac, only to find it completely unresponsive. No lights, no noises. Nothing. Instead of making me worried, it made me angry. I tried the usual: playing with the plug, unplugging it, replugging it, removing the battery, blowing on it - just in case, reinstalling. I even went as far as resetting the machine's CPM (central power management) system. Nothing. Just anger.

I wanted to go home and sulk. And just as I had finished packing my things to go, my friendly waitron delivered a boiling hot cup of coffee with hot milk (exactly what I had asked for a few minutes earlier). That then made me angry. The steam off the milk made annoyed me - I remember thinking: 'if this was cold milk I could drink this coffee quickly and be on my way sooner and that's what I want..."

Approaching my gate, still annoyed with broken technology and muttering a bit to myself, i stretched my hand into my car door to push the button that would (normally) open the gate for me... silly thing to do really. My blood just boiled a little more as I parked outside my complex and used the side gate to let myself in.

I will never forget the calm that came over me as I walked back to my flat. It was unexpected and so I listened. It was as though the dark clouds in my head parted for a second and I felt the voice of Wisdom teaching me... using my weakness and irritation to reveal something to me. God asked me how annoyed I get with an 'offence against the Kingdom of heaven' (that's what He called it, not me)...

There are things worthy of my irritation: rape, addiction, deceit, abuse, tv religion, poverty. But a broken computer is not allowed to be on that list. And nor is milk - regardless of its temperature.