I was right - so there!

We arrived at the beach in Lake Tahoe to watch the fireworks. As the time got closer people were scrambling around for a spot on the beach. One young couple sat together on their blanket near us. Then a family of six came in and put themselves in this tiny little square next to them. The husband who led this group chose this spot and I thought – its as though he has blinders on – there are several other spots available - what kind of leader is that? The young couple were very put-out by this. They could have moved to their left and had plenty of room. I looked over to the right and noticed a huge spot enough for eight. The young couple could have moved there also to accommodate this mans lack of vision and preparation. Instead the young couple didn’t budge. You could feel their tension and anger. They really ruined their own evening by letting this obstacle push on them and steal their peace. I wondered how often we do this? Do we get so caught up in the fight that we lose the thing we are going after? Do we get so stuck on being right that we can’t forgive an offense cuz we’re right, we were here first. Do we have trouble accommodating others because we think they should have thought of this ahead of time? Do we base our forgiveness to others on “well, I was right, you were wrong, soooo” Help us Lord.