"I am the Lord: in its time I will hasten it." Isaiah 60:22
When I was little, I couldn't wait to be big.
When I was big I couldn't wait to be out of school.
When I was out of school I couldn't wait to get my dream job.
When I got my dream job I couldn't wait to get married.
Now that I'm married, I can't wait to have a baby.
It's a bottomless pit that nothing can fill.
Contentment = wanting what you have.
"Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." -Isaiah 40:31
KSW
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Truth in Love
I remember the first time I really heard the term "Truth in love." I was at my wits end with ministry, feeling like people were taking up too much of my time bombarding me with their problems (the first sign that I should NOT have been in ministry)!
I was ready to walk away, when I asked a good friend/mentor of mine how she made ministry look so effortless. She said, "It's easy, you just speak the truth in love."
It was as if a heavy weight of "just be loving" lifted off of my shoulders. "You mean, I don't have to put up with people's taking advantage of me, or doing/saying something that offends or hurts me?"
My wise friend said, "You actually have a responsibility to be honest with people when they annoy/offend/embarrass/take advantage/etc...if you don't tell them, who will?"
It has taken me about three years and a few broken friendships to fully understand what she meant by that and I am finally ready for it.
I have recently discovered that I have spent my life putting up with many things that bother/offend/embarrass and hurt me because of my fear. I am afraid that I will hurt their feelings (as if somehow their feelings are more important than mine), I am afraid that I will lose their friendship (worthwhile friends can handle truth in love), I am afraid that their response to my honesty will hurt me (sticks and stones....).
No wonder I felt like a "boiling pot" when I finally got around to sharing my feelings. I had held so much in that I would explode!
I no longer want to carry around that kind of pent up anger. This is a new chapter in my life, entitled, "The honest, fearless, graceful, courageous, truthful, fruitful, year that Kristen Somody Whalen began to speak the truth in love."
KSW
I was ready to walk away, when I asked a good friend/mentor of mine how she made ministry look so effortless. She said, "It's easy, you just speak the truth in love."
It was as if a heavy weight of "just be loving" lifted off of my shoulders. "You mean, I don't have to put up with people's taking advantage of me, or doing/saying something that offends or hurts me?"
My wise friend said, "You actually have a responsibility to be honest with people when they annoy/offend/embarrass/take advantage/etc...if you don't tell them, who will?"
It has taken me about three years and a few broken friendships to fully understand what she meant by that and I am finally ready for it.
I have recently discovered that I have spent my life putting up with many things that bother/offend/embarrass and hurt me because of my fear. I am afraid that I will hurt their feelings (as if somehow their feelings are more important than mine), I am afraid that I will lose their friendship (worthwhile friends can handle truth in love), I am afraid that their response to my honesty will hurt me (sticks and stones....).
No wonder I felt like a "boiling pot" when I finally got around to sharing my feelings. I had held so much in that I would explode!
I no longer want to carry around that kind of pent up anger. This is a new chapter in my life, entitled, "The honest, fearless, graceful, courageous, truthful, fruitful, year that Kristen Somody Whalen began to speak the truth in love."
KSW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)