Prayer 221: God with us

Dear God

Help me to find Your heart even in the most difficult of people and the most difficult of situations. Thank You that You are a God Who is always with us, even when we can’t see or sense You, and perhaps most especially then. Thank You.

Prayer 61: Tricky colleagues

Dear God

This week, people have been very snippety at work because of all sorts of nasty stuff going on, and really I find it very upsetting indeed. It’s very easy to get drawn into it because it’s such a difficult time for our office. Please be with us in the middle of everything that’s going on, and help me to offer hope and calmness to everyone I come into contact with instead of being grumpy most the time. But I’m definitely going to need Your help to do this! Thank You.

Prayer 12: Difficult people

Dear God

I know You’re not going to be particularly happy about this, but I’ve just heard the wonderful news that a colleague I absolutely hate at work will be leaving soon and I am utterly thrilled in every way. So much so that when I heard the good news (for which thank You!), I went to the ladies’ loos and high-fived myself (if such a thing is even possible …) and mouthed “Re-sult!” to my reflection in the mirror.

Yes, I understand this makes me a bad Christian and definitely a very sad person, but really it’s the best news I’ve had all week. So thank You.

PS Will I sign the leaving card? Um, no. Sorry …

Prayer 5: Difficult people

Dear God

People are really annoying. Sorry, as I know they are Your great big idea and the creation You’re most proud of, but some of them are seriously, almost professionally, irritating. Is there not a way You might consider of keeping them more under control? So they don’t want to talk a lot about things I have no interest in, and they don’t keep on giving me things to do or more responsibilities to take on. There must be some way of holding up a sign saying “Please could you go away now …” without them getting upset and then refusing to speak to me again?

It’s not that I want to hurt people (at least, not the ones I like anyway) but they do go on so, and they never choose their times for social interaction wisely. Sometimes a woman just wants to be left alone with a bar of chocolate and a glass or two of wine (see earlier prayers), and has no wish to listen to all the woes of the world around her. That’s Your job, surely.

On the other hand, maybe You think I’m pretty irritating too and You’re just being terribly Godly (which is surely easier for You than it is for me, I can tell You …) in listening to my ramblings at all. I am of course more than grateful that at no time in our long and increasingly tricky relationship have You held up a sign asking me to go away and save it till later. Or if You have, I have been too spiritually blind to see it, which is probably a blessing in itself.

With that in mind, I’ll try to be more patient with people in the future, but You’re going to have to make an effort to help me as well. I certainly can’t be nice on my own. Not for long anyway. Though, whatever happens, I won’t be straying too far from the chocolate or the alcohol, I can tell you. Thank you.