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Sometimes we forget that other people have a story, too.
The other day we moved for the umpteent jillionth time. Did I ever tell you that I hate moving with a purple passion? Anyway, at the end of the day I returned dead tired to the rental place with the moving van I had rented.
A harried lady greeted us, took the key and did a quick once over to make sure I hadn’t destroyed their property. I was a bit put off because she wasn’t friendly.
A few minutes later to make conversation as she worked to get the final bill ready I remarked, “It’s been a long day. I am bushed.” Then I thought, “It’s after six. It’s probably been a long day for her, too.”
So I said, “I guess it’s been a long day for you, too.”
That opened the door. She lamented that there were usually three of them but one was on vacation and the other left at five p.m. She had worked a ton of overtime recently and she was nearly at the end of her rope.
We settled the bill but she had a completely different attitude towards me. She was friendly and positive. She changed because suddenly I noticed she had a story too.
I recently received an article in my inbox called, “Four Tips for Writing Your Personal Story.” We live in an age which wants to tell its story. Some of that is good. A lot of it is narcissist.
But, I wonder if I wouldn’t be happier if I tried to be sensitive to your story instead of always fretting about mine.
The first commandment is to love God with everything we’ve got. The second is to love you like I love me. I have no problem loving me. You’re often a bit tougher to put up with.
If I think about the people I’m doing life with and how they must feel about things, I feel less sorry for myself and I can help lift their load. Sometimes all they need is someone to listen and try to understand.
I love comic strips and one of the funniest ones is “Zits” by Jerry Scott . It’s the story of a more or less average teenager and his family. One day he’s lying on the couch moaning to himself, “Woe is me. Woe is me.”
His dad walks by and hears him. He proceeds to ask him what he’s got to moan about. He can sleep late in the summer, doesn’t have bills to pay, etc., etc. while he, the dad, had to go to work, pay the mortgage, worry about the family, etc.
The boy looks at him and says, “You’re right. Woe is you. Woe is you.”
The world looks different when you look at it through another’s eyes. Why don’t you try seeing the universe through your husband’s eyes? Or your boss’s? Or that whiny church member?
Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.” (Mt. 22:37-39 MSG)
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Hmmm…
Bad news does not get better with age. (If you have a tendency to avoid conflict, re-read that sentence again.) Someone has to tell the boss what happened, and it should be you. Michael Hyatt
Smile– I want to be so full of Christ that when a mosquito bites me he flies away singing, “There’s Power In the Blood.” (internet)