So I sat there at the kitchen table, awed by this ephiphany and wondering how it was that I hadn't seen it before.
I thought about a time when my husband and I were not yet married, but already best friends. He was interning at a place where I was volunteering and one of my objectives throughout the day was to cross paths with him as often as I could. As we passed in the hall one afternoon, I excitedly bubbled, "Hi, Chris, " and gave him a huge smile. "Hey", was his response as we each continued walking seperate ways. "Hey", was his response? What! Have I offended him? Maybe he's mad at me. I must've said or did something wrong and now he doesn't even want to talk to me!
So here's my best friend, who has never given me a reason to think this way, but my immediate reaction to his response is a negative thought. An evil report.
Later on I found out that he was right in the middle of figuring something out and was on his way to meet a co-worker about the solution, so he was a little preoccupied; not to mention that his reactions to life are a little more subdued than mine, and that's why he didn't jump up and down and give me a big hug or stop and have a five-minute conversation when he saw me in the hallway. Liar, liar pants on fire, evil report.
It was the exact same thing that had just happened with my mother-in-law. I'm her daughter, she's my mom. We have a great relationship. She has never given me a reason to think she doesn't approve of me. She never judges me, she's always supportive and encouraging! But here was this evil report trying to poison my mind again.
4 comments:
Nicolette,
It's so awesome that God is showing you this. It's something that so many of us struggle with. We're so quick to think that others are unhappy with us when they don't return our enthusiasm, aren't we?
One of the things that has helped me is exactly what you're doing...just reminding myself that it's not about me. Get my focus off me and focus on other people.
God bless you!
Excellent post, and a very common problem with us women. God is showing you some cool stuff!
When I met my sis-in-law, she was just a youth (she happens to be a FEW years younger than I...lol..) and not interested in my brother at the time ... she struggled so much with this, so I tried to "mentor" her as much as possible...
Now, years later, we have a "thing" between us...and quite often you will hear one of us saying..
"It's not about me."
Excellent post.. God is so good!!!
I love your writing, Nic. I think I start every comment that way?! oh well. Even though I have been on my 21 day journey for not complaining, every time I read your post, I feel like God is putting his finger on stuff in my life. And then during the day He reminds me of things like, "Liar,liar, pants on fire. Evil report." I'm glad that you are on this journey and that you are sharing what you are learning...very inspirational.
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