Frustration, Control, and Maturity

My fellow blogger Leanne Penny had a post last week in which she said this: "Do you know what frustration is? It’s the conflict between expectation and reality."  

I mentioned this idea yesterday in my sermon at Motion Church, but was yet again forced to reckon with it this morning, as happens often when I'm driving, by the myriad of red lights.  Red lights in Central Florida are just RIDICULOUSLY long, like nowhere else I know.  I hit the one my friend Kelly calls "the nexus of the universe" just as it turned red, so I checked up on twitter.  Then after 4 minutes, I got to move a whole 400 feet to the next red light.  Then a 1/4 mile later I hit another epically long light which everyone wanting to go to Starbucks Maitland is now forced to wait for. 

Here are the thoughts as they flowed, all in about 10 seconds: 
%)$@#!!! 
OK, you're frustrated. 
Because you expect that all lights should just be green for you within 10 seconds or less.  
And that's just not reality.
Are red lights really in your control anyway? 
Mature people don't often get bent out of shape about things out of their control. 
Accept that this is out of your control and use it as a moment to connect with God. 
Hi, God. Sorry for not loving you in that moment, which I preached about just 20 hours ago. 

*Light turns green. 
*Guy in big luxury SUV in front of me is not paying attention and takes 5 seconds to hit the gas.
*The cycle begins again. 

Thankfully, God's love is faithful, sure, and steadfast.  And patient. Eventually, slowly, I will learn to just let these things go right in the moment they happen, and control what I can, which is my attitude.