A while back, I started a list of questions that I'm trying to answer. As I've wrestled with these subjects, I've actually made peace with myself. I'm learning to embrace who God created me to be... and have been pleasantly surprised to find that woman to be quite different from who I've been trying to be.
Anyway, here are this week's question and (hopefully) answer:
What do I truly value?
I value people.
I love hearing their stories and learning what makes them who they are. I am almost always amazed at how someone's story twists and turns...and how God uses all those twists and turns to bring them to His side.
Occasionally I meet someone who becomes a friend. This doesn't happen often and I fully realize this is because I have solid boundaries re-enforced by thick walls of concrete-filled titanium blocks stacked 4 feet deep and 20 feet high held together with gorilla glue. I can only think of a handful (or maybe just a couple) of people who live inside these walls, but the few who do are like oxygen to me. With them I find myself totally at ease...totally myself. They offer no expectations, no pre-conceived notions of how I "should" be, no condemnation, and no judgement. I can breathe and relax in their presence and for that I am eternally grateful.
One of these people recently asked me why I try to get involved with "so many groups." It took me a little minute to figure out how to respond to this. When I did finally work out my response, I realized it fit very well with what I'm writing about today, so, with the encouragement of the friend who asked the question in the first place, I've chosen to share those thoughts here...
I like broken people. I like people who have been told that they don't matter. I love to share the love of Christ with them. I love to show them the difference Christ has made in my life...even when my circumstances are unchanged and the people around me are hurtful. I love the look in a person's eyes when they realize that they matter to me... when they realize that I just love them and want nothing from them. I love the change that love makes in a person who is broken. I love making a person feel that they matter... that they are not alone in their struggles...I love encouraging people.
I love hearing their stories and learning what makes them who they are. I am almost always amazed at how someone's story twists and turns...and how God uses all those twists and turns to bring them to His side.
Occasionally I meet someone who becomes a friend. This doesn't happen often and I fully realize this is because I have solid boundaries re-enforced by thick walls of concrete-filled titanium blocks stacked 4 feet deep and 20 feet high held together with gorilla glue. I can only think of a handful (or maybe just a couple) of people who live inside these walls, but the few who do are like oxygen to me. With them I find myself totally at ease...totally myself. They offer no expectations, no pre-conceived notions of how I "should" be, no condemnation, and no judgement. I can breathe and relax in their presence and for that I am eternally grateful.
One of these people recently asked me why I try to get involved with "so many groups." It took me a little minute to figure out how to respond to this. When I did finally work out my response, I realized it fit very well with what I'm writing about today, so, with the encouragement of the friend who asked the question in the first place, I've chosen to share those thoughts here...
I like broken people. I like people who have been told that they don't matter. I love to share the love of Christ with them. I love to show them the difference Christ has made in my life...even when my circumstances are unchanged and the people around me are hurtful. I love the look in a person's eyes when they realize that they matter to me... when they realize that I just love them and want nothing from them. I love the change that love makes in a person who is broken. I love making a person feel that they matter... that they are not alone in their struggles...I love encouraging people.
I want people's lives to be better because they knew me. I want to make a difference. I want it to matter that I took up space here. I want the people God places in my life to know that they are loved, that they are valuable and important to me.
I suppose I seek out broken people because giving to them makes my heart hurt less.
I don't want anyone to feel like I do, so I do what I can to help people see that they matter.
This is wasted on people who already know that they are important, so I seek out broken people.
Broken people are easier to love. They have no expectation. They soak up my kindness and goodness and love and they are just thankful for it.
So that's all I have to say about that. I truly value people and I seek out truly broken people because I see my own brokenness in them and loving them makes my heart hurt a little less.
Just my thoughts,
Just my thoughts,
K
I wanna know....
What do you truly value??
Does your life reflect that?
What can you do TODAY to invest in the things you truly value?
I wanna know....
What do you truly value??
Does your life reflect that?
What can you do TODAY to invest in the things you truly value?
What determines my worth?
What do I LIKE about me?
What do I LIKE about me?
What is holding me back?
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