Dealing with Disappointment

I have had some time to think about why I am so upset about the mess in my backyard.  After all, the Queen is not coming to tea any time soon and there is really no pressing reason to have this work done by any given date although I do want to get some plants in the ground while the weather is good. I was so angry on Thursday and I have been trying to control my anger in recent years and have largely been successful until this week. 

There are three reasons for my over-reaction, I think.

The first is that I do get upset when people say they are going to do something and then don't do it. My mother-in-law used to tell Jennifer when she was just a little girl that she would do such and such with her and something would always come up and she didn't carry through on her promises. Although Jennifer was young she was aware that this wasn't right and I was sorry that she had to be so disappointed and hurt at such a young age. I finally had to tell my mother-in-law not to make promises unless she was going to keep them.

The landscaper also built our house and although he and his men do very good work, he never seems to do what he says he will do when he says he will do it. I knew this going in and it shouldn't have bothered me but it does. It is the same as lying to me and I can't abide people who consistently lie.

The second reason is that this is costing us thousands of dollars. This may not be a huge sum to the landscaper who just sold his house for 2 million dollars or so but it is a whole lot to me. We will no doubt get it back when we sell the house (if the work is ever finished, of course) but it is a lot of money. The money was left to me by my mother and I know that part of the anger was at myself. I feel guilty that somehow I am wasting the money that Mother worked so hard for and left to me.

The last reason is that in Canada our summers are so short and ours is quickly moving on. I wanted to be able to enjoy this new space this year. Instead I am looking at a bomb site and even though I asked him to be careful with the established plants, many of them will never survive his disregard for what's already there. I took this picture the first day any work was done and it looks just the same or maybe a little worse today - more than a week later.

The Bible tells us to be careful not to let a bitter root grow in our relationships. I know from sad experience how easily this can happen so I am trying to pray this through so that this man will see a godly example in my reactions to him. Living a Christian life was never supposed to be easy but does it have to be so difficult?