Think Before You Speak

If what other people say or do don't matter, then why do they?

Maybe I should rephrase that.  If what other people say or do isn't supposed to matter, then why does it?

This is something that I have fallen victim to more times in my life then I would like to count.  And yet it still happens to me today as a 30 year old.  The only thing that seems to change is the subject matter.  Things like, "why does my friend talk about me behind my back?" or "why did that kid look at me that way" turn into bigger things like "why did they say that about my child?" or "why do they get to stay at home and raise their family and I don't?"  I think I have probably heard "it doesn't matter what other people think"  or "who cares what everyone else is doing" about a million times in my life.  So if it is that important to learn that, then why is it so hard to get into my thick skull?

That is what I want to learn to master in my life.  How to stop caring so much about everyone else and what they are doing or saying.  Whether it is about me personally, or just what they are doing in their own lives that compel me to compare myself and my life. The only things that really matter or that I really need to remember is this:

1)  God loves me exactly the way I am.  In fact, I am the way that I am because that is exactly who He planned for me to be.

2)  I have been blessed beyond measure and in many ways that few people get to experience in life.  I should ALWAYS be thankful for what I have because I have been given so much more than I deserve anyway.

3)  Other people's opinions of me and my family are just that- opinions.  And most of the time those opinions come from a negative place to begin with and from people who really have no insight into having those opinions at all.  In other words, people talk without having any room to talk!  I myself have been so guilty of this before and wish so much I would NEVER be that way again!  Chances are I will fail again but, boy, am I trying so hard not to!  Thank goodness we have a Savior who forgives us when we are wrong and points us in the right direction.

I think the reason that it is so hard to let go of what others say and do is because we are human.  And we get our feelings hurt.  Words can linger and hurt even when they weren't even intended to.  That is why the saying
"think before you speak" is so important.  We may not mean any harm by what comes out of our mouth but we have no idea what it may mean to someone else.  We all go through struggles and down times in our lives so it is important to remember that when we feel the need to run our mouths.  We need to remember to put ourselves in others shoes and realize that we probably don't even have a right to open our mouths in the first place. On days when we wake up and see the sun shining brightly, someone else might see nothing but rain.

I want to be a blessing in someone's life every single day in some way.  Anyone.  Whoever God puts in my path and gives me the opportunity to.  Maybe by just a smile.  Or opening a door.  Or asking "how are you?" and actually caring about the answer.  Whatever it is, I am going to strive to always be a blessing, not the cause of someone's hurt.