July 2022 Archives
Check Your Attitude
I confess that my attitude is not always what it should be, especially when I’m tired or surprised. Since it is impossible to predict every situation that might arise and since I do not always get the sleep that my body thinks it needs, it is important that I stay close to the Lord and try to be pleasant, even when I do not like how things are playing out.
We live in a world where the common thought is to not let others treat you badly, but sometimes when I listen to another’s story, I feel like they overreacted to the situation, and that what was asked of them was not out of line. It’s funny how it seems major when I am the one offended, but when I am not emotionally charged, I can evaluate someone else and see things differently.
Pride is a hard trait to overcome. It is “right there,” ready to surface at any moment. Many relationships have been severed by one or both parties being unwilling to lay down their pride for the sake of friendship or brotherly love. As much as I pray to stay in tune with the Spirit, I too can hit the place of feeling like it’s not worth it to bite my tongue and refuse to be offended when someone says or does something I don’t like. Life is short, however, and one day that person who said or did “the wrong thing” will no longer be here. It’s important that I not be the one to cause that riff with those that God has placed in my life.
I have been tested on this last night and today so this is my own reminder as well as something that I expect my readers deal with. Don’t let the sun set on your anger. Refrain from letting petty things cause you to be unkind. Ask for God’s help when you’re struggling. That’s what I’m doing, and I don’t doubt that He will answer this prayer of each one of us who seek Him.
Bridging the Generation Gap
I just finished reading As Iron Sharpens Iron by Howard Hendricks and, although the book was written to men during the Promise Keepers era, it gave me a lot of food for thought.
About ten years ago, I began to feel a void of older women who were willing to pour into a younger woman to whom they were not related. Although being an age that should render itself to both physical and spiritual maturity, I really wanted an older woman who would take me under wing, be a sounding board, give me counsel, pray with me when I needed it, etc. I decided that older women did not want that responsibility. They had lives of their own and were unwilling to invest their time and energy in that way.
On the flip side, I have heard older women complain that young women do not want to learn from them, and the more I have studied the last couple of generations, I must concede that they are right. Young women today tend to treat older women as though they don’t understand what today’s moms go through, as though life were easier when Grandma was raising children. Peers and blogs are the go-tos while the ones who toiled and sacrificed to bring us where we are today get overlooked.
Ever since I was a young girl, I loved to hang out with older girls. When I was under ten, those girls were teenagers. As a teenager, I preferred to be with women in their 20s and 30s. In my 30s, I found that my friends were often 10 to 20 years older than I was. And so it went. Now that I’m approaching 50, I still love to spend time with older women and am grateful for those who allow me to do so. I learn a lot by listening and observing them. But I also try to be available to my sisters or younger women who want to get together. I don’t know if I am inputting into their lives in any meaningful way, but I would rather make an effort than not do so.
I don’t know where you find yourself in the seasons of life, but I would like to remind you that you should always be learning and growing. Don’t neglect the older people in your life who might know a few more things than you give them credit for. But don’t fail to listen to young people either. You may be coming from two different worlds, but maybe you can help each other understand where the generation gap is and seal it a bit.
