Friday, October 2, 2009

Extra Grace Recipient

There is a woman in my general hemisphere who I don't particularly care for. It all started when we were working together on a certain volunteer job. I could not stand how she spoke to people, how she would tear apart work that had already been done by others and how she treated others. Her voice even grated on me. But, I tried like heck to be pleasant and forgiving and to work around her craziness. I would seriously pray every time before I would see her- please help me Lord to see her as you see her. Although, I am not entirely convinced that He doesn't completely agree with me about her general manner.

Then she cornered one of our fellow volunteers who happened to be a dad and reamed him for 45 minutes telling him how unfair he had been and how he had just taken over. This was the farthest thing from the truth. He had been gracious, open to suggestions, and willing to let anyone do any part of the job. He had also taken time off of work to volunteer.

He called me, upset and wondering if I felt the same way. Well, I don't deal well with lies and I do not deal well with injustice so I had to send an e-mail to all the volunteers merely stating the truth of how this man had helped so graciously all year.

I never heard anything back from her and figured at least now she would stay clear of me. NOOOOO! The next week she came up chatting with me about something casual as if nothing had happened.

The reason I am telling you this story is because I now have a name for her she is an Extra Grace Recipient aka EGR. A friend of mine told me about this term that was mentioned in a sermon we missed at church. Our church is doing the 40 Days of Love and this idea of an EGR is part of the teaching.

Don't you just love that? A nice name for a really annoying person!

Obviously the love part is the grace and I know I need to work on that with this particular woman. But now, every time I see her I will think- EXTRA GRACE, EXTRA GRACE!

Do you know anyone who needs to be an Extra Grace Recipient?

19 comments:

Lisa Anne said...

I dislike rude people too. Some should just call her out instead of letting her be rude to them. so Annoying. I love the name for her though!

Lemonade Makin' Mama said...

What a sweet and gracious way of thinking of her. I love the soft way you are dealing with her, and the fact that you aren't holding onto bitterness, which is so very easy for us to do when someone is generally offensive. Your approach to her will really bless others girl! Thanks for sharing this encouragement, as we all have some extra grace recipients in our atmosphere!

Blessings,
Sasha

Amy said...

I will have to remember this. I try to say "they are a child of God" over and over to myself when I am dealing with these situations. I do have to say that one time I believe I said it to myself about 100 times when talking to one particular lady.
Blessings,
Amy

Erin said...

I have only one question...do we only get to have 1 EGR???? LOL...I think the PTO should be renamed the EGR's!!!!! :)

Susan Berlien said...

My ex- sister in law (brother's ex wife) could sure use some extra grace.
It's so hard when people are unappreciative of volunteer work! That really gets my goat! You hit the nail on the head with this post!!

Fliterary said...

Great way to look at someone. Love this! Thank you, Brigetta. Have a wonderful weekend!

Foursons said...

Those are much nicer words then I use for someone like that. :)

Love & Maple Syrup said...

Me!!! Hey, why should she get extra grace? Besides, don't we all need a little EXTRA grace? I think in cases like her, letting her get the better of you is just not fair. I try and save my energy for more important things... like my family. You know all too well that my momma bear instinct kicks in from time to time, and God only knows I need some extra grace! She's on a journey too. WWJD? Invite her on a walk? Tell her a story?

A New England Girl said...

Love the name! I don't think I could maintain the sort of patience and grace you seem to exhibit with her. After I had heard about the mishap with the father, and she came and spoke to me the following week as if nothing had happened, I am sure I would have lost my cool and told her exactly where to go.

Just Add Walter said...

great post...love the name! I will have to remember that one for sure!

Katrina said...

Situations like those are hard. Good for you for staying positive. I had a girl I worked with I had a really hard time with so I would try extra hard to acknowledge the positives about her all the time. After awhile, she started acting on the positive feedback I was giving her and was much nicer to us around her.

I'll definitely remember EGR in the future! :)

Farmgirl Paints said...

Love your little pet name for her. Kind of makes you smile inside when you think of her:) Just remember...hurting people hurt people. That always helps me!

DolceDreams said...

Oh yes I do, and I am not very good at hiding my feelings...People are funny, aren't they. I guess it is all a lesson meant to cross our paths.
Forget about it for the moment and enjoy your weekend, as I am trying to do!
Nathalie

Brian the old man said...

Great story. I too have an extra grace recipient in my life. Unfortunately I have to see her daily. It is just her negativity that gets on my nerves. I don't think she has ever had a good day in her life. I pray for her often. Thanks for the term, I'm sure I'll be thinking of it on a daily basis.

A Musing Mother said...

I've been thinking about my blogstalker all day. Happens to be my neighbor. So tired of the confrontational and defensive comments she leaves. And then she quotes scripture.

Okay, I'll try...

Sande said...

Ohhhh ... you are so very brave. I've become very careful when dealing with difficult people because I now know how He gives me the grace to love people like this.

By showing me how much you need His. Ouch!!! Ouch!!! and more Ouch!!!

Theta Mom said...

Those situations are tough. I'll have to remember about EGR in the future, especially when I deal with a person like that! Just found your blog through the Sevin Family blog. You have such an adorable place here! Would love to follow if you follow as well. :)

The Rambler said...

I'm going to have to remember this one. I have someone at work that is an extra extra grace recipient. :)

Helen McGinn said...

That is a nice way to put it. I'm finding a similar person really hard to bear right now and I'm trying to remain positive and non judgemental but find myself wanting. The straw broke the camel's back when, due to her issue with me, she wouldn't let her daughter invite my son...they are very good friends...to her birthday party. I mean, how do you deal with a grown woman who would use her children so? I've remained friendly, smiley and kind but I'm fighting the urge not to just trip her up next time I see her.....*L* I obviously won't, but I can dream, can't I?

So, thank you for this post and if you have any suggestions how to deal with this person, pleeeasse share! x