Living in peace

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Romans 12:18 We have been living on the bottom floor of an apartment building for 18 months as we continue to look for a house. We have had 3 families live above us during this time and overall, they have been courteous and respectful. The last family to move in, however, has not been. Their dogs bark at all hours of the day and night (including at us when we are coming home); their owners allow them to roam on the deck, which leaves a ton of dog hair on my patio furniture that I have to clean up. They also run around upstairs like they are wearing lead boots. This family has tested our patience - which is already hanging by a thread to begin with. If there is one pet peeve I have, it's being inconsiderate of others. One afternoon, after I had spent 2 hours cleaning dog hair off my patio furniture, I came home to find goldfish crackers and more dog hair all over my patio. I wish I can say I acted like Jesus when I saw this - full of love and grace. I did act like Jesus, but more like the picture I have of him when he was throwing tables out of the temple. It was not a pretty sight. My husband decided to take the lead with this one (I think he just didn't want me to go all psycho on them). He called the property and asked to have the manager call him. He stated "please do not do anything regarding this situation until I talk to the manager. I don't want to be at war with these people". We really just wanted to see if they would put a mat on their patio to keep the dog hair on their porch. The next day it sounded like a 50 lb. weight was being dropped on my ceiling - over and over and over again. Then I heard loud stomping and slamming things. My kitchen light fixture looked like it was about to come out of the ceiling. I knocked on the door to the upstairs apartment to see what the problem was. She finally came downstairs and was obviously upset. I asked her if everything was alright, she said she was exercising and slammed the door in my face. We found out later that the property went against my husband's wishes and sent them a letter. She has never been overly friendly, but now she was in retaliation mode, and I was at my wits end. Home wasn't home anymore, it felt like a combat zone. My husband talked to the property manager a couple days later and voiced his displeasure, but not much changed. I truly did not handle this very well either, I'll admit. My anger got the best of me at times and there are a few marks on the ceiling where a stray basketball went flying up. But in the midst of God working on my anger, he also was teaching me what it truly means to live at peace. I love that Romans 12:18 begins with "if it is possible". God knows it is not always possible to live at peace, and there are times action must be taken. We certainly have a right to live in the comfort of our home, but we didn't mean for this nasty letter to go out. I wrestled with the Lord, and myself with this one. Do I say something, or leave it be? My heart has been restless. I have been praying for the Lord to help me resolve this. I have been asking him to place her in my path so I can talk to her, if that is his will. If that wasn't his will, and I was to leave this situation alone, then I prayed for that too. To be honest, my more heartfelt prayers were that I would not have to confront her, and that I was justified in being angry and she would go on her merry way. God had other plans though. Today I came home and felt the urge to write her a note and stick it on her door. I didn't get the letter done before I left to go pick up David, but when I walked out the husband was standing near his car. With all the courage I could muster and shaking like a leaf, I walked up to him. I asked him to apologize to his wife for me. I told him I knew she was angry with me presumably about the letter, and I told him what our intentions were when we called the property. He was nice enough, but began to make excuses for their dogs and blamed another resident for the dog hair. I blew it off and just reiterated my sincere apology that the letter was sent and that she got so upset. I truly did not mean to upset her. He said he would relay the message and wished me well. What I did today most likely will not change my situation. Based on the husband's reaction, they don't take responsibility for their animals or for the noise coming from upstairs. They most likely will remain inconsiderate to me and my family. If so, I will seek wisdom how to move forward. The lesson for me was, for once, not in the end result. The lesson was the process. I wish I could have been more loving and graceful in the way I handled it. I wish my anger had not gotten the best of me some days. I get so focused on the lack of consideration in some people, I tend to forget they may be dealing with some difficult things and I need to be mindful of that. I am also thankful the Lord used this very stressful time to draw me nearer to him and seek him out. I am so thankful to the Lord also, for allowing that man to be at his car, and for giving me the courage to speak to him. God loves me enough to have sent the husband, not the angry wife, to deal with. For that I am grateful. As much as it depended on me, for today, I attempted to live at peace. I pray I learn from this and extend grace when needed.....and have patience enough not to throw any more balls at the ceiling, no matter how loud it gets!