Abandoned On My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday.  My daughter and her family had taken me out to celebrate the previous week while I was visiting, so it was just my husband and me for the day. And it was Labor Day. We had a quiet afternoon around the house and then we decided to go out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. I was excited because we haven’t gone out much since the arrival of his new service dog (another story). We opted to not take the dog, because he still is in training.  Expecting to have a sweet, quiet dinner to celebrate together sounded very good.

But just as we were finishing our salads, Jon’s niece called. Her father, Jon’s brother passed away a few weeks ago, and she was struggling with many concerns and issues regarding his estate. The waitress brought our dinners, and I began to eat while Jon listened to his niece spill over with her frustrations and problems with getting things settled and his medical practice closed. I continued to eat alone, while Jon remained on his phone, and I started to get upset.  This was my birthday dinner after all.  I kept eating. He stayed on the phone, until I had completely finished my meal. I was struggling with how to feel compassionate for this sweet girl who just lost her father while being abandoned by my husband during my birthday dinner. As I was forming the words that I planned to say to communicate my frustration, a warm feeling washed over me with a reminder. How many times has God wanted my attention, and I was too distracted to notice? How many times have I told Him that I would get to Him when I finished with whatever I was doing at the time? When I remembered these things, I was no longer upset, but thankful that God never gets frustrated with me when I abandon Him for other distractions that somehow seem so important at the time.

I was very grateful for the reminder, and I so enjoyed Jon’s company while he finished his meal. It was a perfect birthday dinner!