Grump Dump 2

Over the weekend I wrote a post about grumpy church members that I did not publish. I don't care for it when others do a grump dump on me--whether they are just having a bad day; whether they hope I can meet their needs even when they are not communicated; or whether they assume I do not care about them because I inadvertently overlooked something they believed I should have paid attention to.

We just got back from a week in Texas for Spring Break with my whole family. It was a great gathering with pictures, family dinners, fun, 6 Flags, museums and a 75th birthday party for my parents. But it was also a formula for a grump dump in several directions. I am not sure why I am worried about who is dumping on me when I can also be a master dumper. Even when I make a concerted effort not to, I crab at my sisters, my husband, my kids. We all have an underlying anxiety about something--receiving enough love, attention, care, power, hope, recognition, money--something. When we are lacking, we take out it out on someone else--but it's not really about them at all. It's about our own lack of inner peace and acceptance.

Next time I start counting up who is doing a grump dump on me, I will take a look at the load I am carrying. Perhaps I can pray for serenity before I become the next dump truck.