Weekly Reflection – Building Up

Stepping off a train, an electronic billboard advertising jobs flashed: ‘Could you be a construction manager in Leeds?’  Well, whatever abilities I might have, building things isn’t one of them.  And as I pottered around the city on my errands, I became increasingly grumpy at having to walk around scaffolding, work vans, closed pavements, and so on.

It’s very easy to get irritated and irritable, isn’t it, when things like happen that interrupt our days or make things harder?  Roadworks or rail delays, learner drivers or holes in the road, when the internet drops out, we could go on …

Safely in the train carriage coming home, the doors closed, the whistle blew, when the guard noticed a heavy-laden lady running along the platform.  He stopped the doors, shouted for her to jump on, and with a great sigh of relief she sank into a seat.  The train probably was a minute or so late pulling out, but it might have made one person’s day much better.  A brief, not very costly act of kindness.

Of course it’s reasonable to have expectations of others, not least if people are being paid to do a job, or something essential (like access for those with limited mobility) is involved.  But the guard’s kindness reminds me that, sometimes, it’s not good for me or those around me if I get irritated and grumpy if it’s just a minor interruption or inconvenience.  Next time my first instinct is to think ‘Why is this making my day harder?’, I’m going to try and take a breath and not be grumpy.  That will help me, like the guard, be kinder; and kindness not only makes me feel better but helps build a better and happier world.  And Christians believe God is never irritable or grumpy with us, so I have another reason for trying, too.  And while I’m never going to be one myself, I’ll spare a prayer for construction managers and train guards while I’m at it.

Philip Hobday
Wakefield Cathedral