The Golden Rule

This seems like such a simple concept. I mean, I totally know how I want to be treated. I want to be forgiven quickly and completely. I want others to have patience with my shortcomings. I want the people I live and work with to understand that sometimes I just have a bad day. I want the people in my life to believe the best about me.  I want my value to be based on who I am, rather than for what I do. When I am angry, sad, frustrated, or otherwise upset, I want sympathy and understanding and compassion. I want the people I love to take a moment to let me know that they love me. Above everything else, I want to be understood and not judged. I want to be appreciated for my strengths and not belittled for my weaknesses. I know where I fall short; I need someone to remind me of the areas where I excel.

I believe that God chose me to be my husband's wife and my children's mom. I believe He placed me in the office I work in with the people I work with. I believe He chose my sister, brothers, nieces, nephews, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I believe He placed my family in our church. I believe that God expects me to serve all the people He has placed in my life....but not to serve them all the same way.

I truly believe that my best, my very best, should be saved for those God has placed in my care. They deserve the best of my patience, the best of my laughter, the best of my affection, the best of my smiles, the best of my imagination, the best of my sympathy, the best of my understanding, the best of my attention, the best of my forgiveness, the best of my creativity, the best of my cooking, the best of my cleaning, the best of my encouragement, the best of my...the best of me.

For so long, I thought that I had to give my best to everyone or I would be a failure. I realize now that I set myself up to fail by trying to give the best of me to everyone. There's not enough "best" to go around. From now on, everyone gets some, but the 3 people God gave me to care for get the best. If I have a bad day and have little to give, then my husband and my kiddos will get that little bit. I am going to strive to save some "me" for them at the end of the day rather than coming home completely spent...

At the end of the day, I am going to forgive them quickly and completely. I will have patience with their shortcomings. I will understand that sometimes they just have a bad day. I will believe the best about them.  I'll base their value on who they are, rather than on what they do. When they are angry, sad, frustrated, or otherwise upset, I will offer sympathy and understanding and compassion. I will take a moment to let them know that I love them. Above everything else, I will strive to always understand and not judge. I will appreciate them for their strengths and not belittle them for their weaknesses. They know where they fall short; they need someone to remind them of the areas where they excel...and I want to be that someone...

after all, that's how I want them to treat me.

I promise

 

 

 

 

One of the things I promised my self I would do this year is write for me. Oh my goodness, it is so easy to fall into writing what I think people will read, like, and share. I guess it's rooted in my deep desire for acceptance and approval. I feel like if people read, like, and share my thoughts, then I am not a failure.

 

From time to time I go back and read over some of the things I have written and I am almost always surprised by what I find. There are periods of time when words seem to flow freely and there are times when my writing seems forced. Some posts are full of passion and others are empty.

I've been puzzled as to why some posts resonate with emotion and others fall flat. I believe that it all boils down to the motive behind my writing.

 

I began this blog as a tool to sort through my thoughts. I have always kept a journal and this is pretty much just an electronic version of that. Each time I've had cancer, "In the Battle" gave me a place to vent my frustrations and work through my emotions. It was easy to write during those times because they were so emotional.

 

Now, when things are normal, it is not so easy to write. So I sit here and stare at a blank screen and wonder if I should even try to write at all. I don't have anything profound to say. I don't have any crazy over the top stories of faith to share. I'm not feeling particularly courageous or inspired. Truth be told, I'm struggling in lots of areas and really need some time to just work through the details of life. My heart is heavy. I am burdened not only because of things going on in my life, but because I have friends who are struggling. I am weary.  I feel overwhelmed and under-qualified in lots of areas. I suppose that if I am writing to feed my pride, then no, I shouldn't keep writing because few are interested in the mundane day to day goings on of this Pastor's wife.

 

However, if I am writing for me, to sort through my thoughts, challenges, fears, anxieties, frustrations, and spiritual walk, then yes, I absolutely should continue to write. Why? Because God ministers to ME through my writing about everyday mundane stuff that means nothing to anyone but me. When I look back over past posts, God reminds me of how CLOSE to Him I have been...and how far from Him I have been. He speaks to me thru me and I think that's pretty stinkin awesome.

So, this year I am going to allow myself to write about whatever and not worry about numbers or visitors or followers or anything else. I think it will be good for me.

 

I promise myself that I will write what I feel and not what I think I should feel.

I promise myself that I will  not beat myself up if I have nothing to say for several weeks in a row.

I promise myself that I will  not look at the analytics.

I promise myself that I will  not keep up with the # of followers.

I promise myself that I will simply write from my heart about whatever I'm working through when I sit down at the keyboard without trying to anticipate whether or not anyone else will find my thoughts worth reading.

 

I promise myself that I will relax and trust God to use me if and when He sees fit.