Lenten Penance in Practice

I was reading my lenten meditation for the day in the Magnificat.  I love these daily reflections and try to incorporate the suggested penance when able.  On this particular day the penance was to clean up someone else's mess without letting on.  At first I found it humorous.  As a mom and a wife, I am always cleaning up disasters made by others.  I showed it to Chris and we both snickered at the irony.

Suddenly my conscience was pricked.  There was a mess I could clean which was not my own.  It is one I do very begrudgingly on most occasions, and I make sure I let Chris know by complaining.  He is in the habit of tapping his shavings from his electric razor into his sink and just leaving them without rinsing them down.  It drives me bonkers.  Lately, I'd just been leaving them myself.

"He can wash them down the drain himself." I'd say to myself.

I had not thought I might serve him instead; cleaning up after him in this particular regard.  I hopped up, stole into the bathroom and rinsed his sink.  It only took a few seconds.  Boy, I can be hard headed, passive aggressive, and ungenerous at times.  Such a simple little thing ended up taking on so much more meaning.  Where are you hard headed and ungenerous? Are there times you might say, "I will not serve?"