Another Long Day- A Short Story
Hello readers! Today's short story is being brought to you thanks to one of my friends and readers, Hayle. I hope you enjoy it!
Most days, Elizabeth could take almost anything in stride. She could hold her head high, thank the Lord for the sunshine, and ignore the things that would bring her down. Today was not one of those days.
Things had started out well, with the sun shining brightly through the clouds and in her window as she awoke, and the remembrance that she had bacon waiting in the fridge to fry this morning. Her step had some pep in it as she rolled out of bed and made her way to the closet for a clean skirt, even her amazingly messy hair had made her grin in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, and the excitement of a surprise party at work for one of her co-workers, who was retiring and today was their last day, had her humming her way through breakfast preparations.
And then it had all gone south.
Before she had even finished frying the bacon, the rain had started pouring. Someone had commented on one of her posts, belittling her opinions and mocking the joy she had over some random bit of news she had shared. A stranger had replied to her comment on another post, using filthy language to berate her. Her favorite skirt got caught on the cabinet handle and ripped the pocket almost clean off. Her new sandal's ankle strap popped off, unrepairable. Her manager called to let her know that the party had been cancelled due to a visit from upper management who frowned upon such activities as parties, and the cake she had slaved over last night wasn't going to be needed. To top it all off, the bacon burned while she was on the phone and trying to find another skirt to wear.
And all of a sudden, her day was not nearly as nice as she had expected it to be. Elizabeth trudged along through cleaning up after the burnt bacon mess, frowned at the skirt she had changed into, and held her umbrella close over her head as she waddled through the puddles in the yard to her car.
Lord, it sure would be nice to have something... well, something nice happen today. She prayed as she drove. Something, ANYTHING nice!
The morning seemed to drag on at work. Everyone was in a rather gloomy mood, it seemed. Things escalated right before noon when two other works broke out in a squabble over some trivial matter. Elizabeth sighed and tried to tune them out.
Bzz-bzz.
Elizabeth reached for her phone, absentmindedly wondering who would be texting her right now knowing she was at work. She opened the text message without really paying much attention to who it was from.
Hey! Hope you have a great day today. Remember: we can choose to count our blessings, or we can choose to number our problems; only one will remind us the day is not as bad as it seems.
With a half smile, Elizabeth glanced at the sender. Her friend Faith, of course. Always an encouragement, Faith would often randomly send these kind of message. Elizabeth sent a quick thanks then tucked the phone back in her pocket.
The rain still hadn't let up, but at least the weather app predicted it would by evening. Elizabeth sighed again and tried to find a reason to be thankful for the rain. I guess it is necessary, isn't it? We need it to prevent draughts, and the crops sure could use it. That was about as grateful as she could get for the rain, Elizabeth thought with a smile as a notification in her email popped up on her computer.
We're going to take Jan to lunch instead, and we're going to all chip in to have some flowers delivered to her before she leaves this afternoon. Want to join us?
Of course she would. Elizabeth sent back her reply and checked her watch, trying to think of the blessing in the missed party. I guess a lunch spent out is better than a rushed party on break? And Jan will be able to take the flowers home and enjoy them, rather than just eating one slice of cake that won't last five minutes.
Okay, well, that was another thing. What about the ripped skirt? Elizabeth tried to find a reason to thank the Lord for that one, but nothing was coming to mind. The burnt bacon? Same thing. Well, second thought, she had been saying she needed to lay off fatty, greasy foods, so the bacon burning did save her from that, though she wasn't sure it was really a reason to thank the Lord for losing an entire package of bacon.
Lunch ended up being a wonderful time of laughter, memories, and a few tears as Elizabeth's co-workers said tearful goodbyes and wished Jan well in her retirement days. Elizabeth was asked to leave a few minutes early to stop by the florist to order the flowers. She was waiting the florist to finish tying the ribbon around the vase when her phone buzzed again.
Hey girl, I just wanted to tell you that you're beautiful, you're special, you're a blessing, and you're an awesome person! Keep shining for Jesus! Love you!
With a smile, Elizabeth tucked her phone back in her purse with the intention of answering Shay once she returned to work. Shay always had a word of encouragement, and the Lord always knew when to have her send it just when Elizabeth needed it most.
The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by. The sun had returned by the time five o'clock rolled around, and Elizabeth could at least smile as she walked to her car.
Kicking her shoes off once she was home, Elizabeth went to the kitchen to slide the potpie she had prepared the night before into the oven. While waiting on it to heat, she opened her favorite social media app and scrolled for a few minutes before checking her notifications. The old notification of the replies and comments that had so bothered her before were still there, and she frowned for just a moment at the sight of them.
Lord, I don't know why people feel the need to be so ugly online, She prayed, But I guess that just because they're mean and hateful doesn't mean I need to respond in like. Help me to be kind towards those who are unkind, even though my first response is to be rude and snap back at them. I do pray for these two people, because it's obvious they need you badly, Lord, whether for salvation or to get their hearts right.
The oven dinged after a bit, and Elizabeth took her dinner to the table. It was a quiet dinner, but Elizabeth didn't mind too much. The day looked to be ending as it had started, despite that rocky patch between opening her eyes and closing them. She cleaned up her kitchen, singing one of her favorite gospel songs as she did, and prepared for bed with a peace that wasn't going to be easily shaken. As she laid down on her bed to read for a few minutes before bed, Elizabeth smiled.
I guess today wasn't as bad as I thought it was, now that I think of it. Sure, there were some things that hurt me, things that could have gone better, but You worked it all out anyway, Lord. I'm sorry for not looking for the blessings and counting only the disappointments.
Tomorrow might be another long day, or it might bring her all sunshine and smiles. Whichever it was, Elizabeth determined to count her blessings when something didn't go as planned, instead of letting the problems steal her happiness.
Most days, Elizabeth could take almost anything in stride. She could hold her head high, thank the Lord for the sunshine, and ignore the things that would bring her down. Today was not one of those days.
Things had started out well, with the sun shining brightly through the clouds and in her window as she awoke, and the remembrance that she had bacon waiting in the fridge to fry this morning. Her step had some pep in it as she rolled out of bed and made her way to the closet for a clean skirt, even her amazingly messy hair had made her grin in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, and the excitement of a surprise party at work for one of her co-workers, who was retiring and today was their last day, had her humming her way through breakfast preparations.
And then it had all gone south.
Before she had even finished frying the bacon, the rain had started pouring. Someone had commented on one of her posts, belittling her opinions and mocking the joy she had over some random bit of news she had shared. A stranger had replied to her comment on another post, using filthy language to berate her. Her favorite skirt got caught on the cabinet handle and ripped the pocket almost clean off. Her new sandal's ankle strap popped off, unrepairable. Her manager called to let her know that the party had been cancelled due to a visit from upper management who frowned upon such activities as parties, and the cake she had slaved over last night wasn't going to be needed. To top it all off, the bacon burned while she was on the phone and trying to find another skirt to wear.
And all of a sudden, her day was not nearly as nice as she had expected it to be. Elizabeth trudged along through cleaning up after the burnt bacon mess, frowned at the skirt she had changed into, and held her umbrella close over her head as she waddled through the puddles in the yard to her car.
Lord, it sure would be nice to have something... well, something nice happen today. She prayed as she drove. Something, ANYTHING nice!
The morning seemed to drag on at work. Everyone was in a rather gloomy mood, it seemed. Things escalated right before noon when two other works broke out in a squabble over some trivial matter. Elizabeth sighed and tried to tune them out.
Bzz-bzz.
Elizabeth reached for her phone, absentmindedly wondering who would be texting her right now knowing she was at work. She opened the text message without really paying much attention to who it was from.
Hey! Hope you have a great day today. Remember: we can choose to count our blessings, or we can choose to number our problems; only one will remind us the day is not as bad as it seems.
With a half smile, Elizabeth glanced at the sender. Her friend Faith, of course. Always an encouragement, Faith would often randomly send these kind of message. Elizabeth sent a quick thanks then tucked the phone back in her pocket.
The rain still hadn't let up, but at least the weather app predicted it would by evening. Elizabeth sighed again and tried to find a reason to be thankful for the rain. I guess it is necessary, isn't it? We need it to prevent draughts, and the crops sure could use it. That was about as grateful as she could get for the rain, Elizabeth thought with a smile as a notification in her email popped up on her computer.
We're going to take Jan to lunch instead, and we're going to all chip in to have some flowers delivered to her before she leaves this afternoon. Want to join us?
Of course she would. Elizabeth sent back her reply and checked her watch, trying to think of the blessing in the missed party. I guess a lunch spent out is better than a rushed party on break? And Jan will be able to take the flowers home and enjoy them, rather than just eating one slice of cake that won't last five minutes.
Okay, well, that was another thing. What about the ripped skirt? Elizabeth tried to find a reason to thank the Lord for that one, but nothing was coming to mind. The burnt bacon? Same thing. Well, second thought, she had been saying she needed to lay off fatty, greasy foods, so the bacon burning did save her from that, though she wasn't sure it was really a reason to thank the Lord for losing an entire package of bacon.
Lunch ended up being a wonderful time of laughter, memories, and a few tears as Elizabeth's co-workers said tearful goodbyes and wished Jan well in her retirement days. Elizabeth was asked to leave a few minutes early to stop by the florist to order the flowers. She was waiting the florist to finish tying the ribbon around the vase when her phone buzzed again.
Hey girl, I just wanted to tell you that you're beautiful, you're special, you're a blessing, and you're an awesome person! Keep shining for Jesus! Love you!
With a smile, Elizabeth tucked her phone back in her purse with the intention of answering Shay once she returned to work. Shay always had a word of encouragement, and the Lord always knew when to have her send it just when Elizabeth needed it most.
The rest of the afternoon seemed to fly by. The sun had returned by the time five o'clock rolled around, and Elizabeth could at least smile as she walked to her car.
Kicking her shoes off once she was home, Elizabeth went to the kitchen to slide the potpie she had prepared the night before into the oven. While waiting on it to heat, she opened her favorite social media app and scrolled for a few minutes before checking her notifications. The old notification of the replies and comments that had so bothered her before were still there, and she frowned for just a moment at the sight of them.
Lord, I don't know why people feel the need to be so ugly online, She prayed, But I guess that just because they're mean and hateful doesn't mean I need to respond in like. Help me to be kind towards those who are unkind, even though my first response is to be rude and snap back at them. I do pray for these two people, because it's obvious they need you badly, Lord, whether for salvation or to get their hearts right.
The oven dinged after a bit, and Elizabeth took her dinner to the table. It was a quiet dinner, but Elizabeth didn't mind too much. The day looked to be ending as it had started, despite that rocky patch between opening her eyes and closing them. She cleaned up her kitchen, singing one of her favorite gospel songs as she did, and prepared for bed with a peace that wasn't going to be easily shaken. As she laid down on her bed to read for a few minutes before bed, Elizabeth smiled.
I guess today wasn't as bad as I thought it was, now that I think of it. Sure, there were some things that hurt me, things that could have gone better, but You worked it all out anyway, Lord. I'm sorry for not looking for the blessings and counting only the disappointments.
Tomorrow might be another long day, or it might bring her all sunshine and smiles. Whichever it was, Elizabeth determined to count her blessings when something didn't go as planned, instead of letting the problems steal her happiness.
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