Killing them with kindness

Have any of you ever re-read a book? Well I highly recommend it! Especially if it was one you got so much from. I have recently started a women's community group with my church and we are following along in the book Ask it! by Andy Stanley. Last week was our first official meeting so tonight we will start into the book. I have just finished re-reading the first 2 chapters and can I just say Oh. My. Goodness! such goodness and so much more knowledge can be gleaned when you give something a second read. I got to the end of chapter 2 and this quote really got me. "Instead of trying to make a right decision, you are trying to make a decision right." If you haven't already, go back and re-read that quote a time or two. Let it settle in and see if it resonates.
This little sentiment resounded for me in the biggest way today. I had to go to the DMV and lets all just agree that going to the DMV plain stinks. The people helping you are usually very disgruntled and the wait times are insane. So I went in with the most positive attitude I could have and I was ready to kill them all with kindness. The first ladies were great! They smiled back and were so helpful. I was feeling pumped up and ready to stay positive with no problems. Then I went to the first window. I was greeted with barely a hello, eye rolls, and certainly the opposite of a smile. This is where I had to take a breath and remember to kill her with kindness. I kept my positive attitude and within minutes I got a smile back and she was very helpful. Unfortunately, I had to go to another window to truly get accomplished what I was there for. When I arrived at the second window I literally thought I was meeting a Bergen (if you haven't seen Trolls, go see it!) Bergen's are essentially the antagonist of the movie, their big, ugly and never happy. It was at this point that I had to compose myself.
She immediately told me all the things I didn't have and that I would need to come back :( I took a breath and very gently, with the most polite tone I could muster, re-explained what I was there for. It was at the moment that she met me with a little grace. However curt, she told me to go take a seat and fill out the forms and come back to her when I was done.
It was probably a good thing that I had to step away. I called my husband, got my anger and frustrations out, filled out all the paperwork and went back in with a smile on my face and a grateful attitude. By the end of our transaction I got the Bergen to smile! She was even laughing with me.
Her smile was the little thing. That little thing that reminded me to keep striving for love when it's the furtherest thing from our minds. Especially with complete strangers. It would have been so easy to make the decision to come back to her with how I felt I should be treated. Only then to rationalize to myself later why that was the right decision. Instead I chose to make the right decision first (to be kind) and not make my decision right later by rationalizing. I left with the best reminder of a laugh and smile that a little act of kindness is probably what made her and my day!