Those of you that know me, you know Im independent... Im independent in the way I work. Im independent as a child, and as a mother, and as a wife. I go to church at Independent Community Church ( ICC )... However, there are times I still do things by the book... a few times. As I mentioned, I am not currently affiliated with any denomination. However, for the past 2 years, I have felt compelled to participate (independently) in the observance of Lent. Never had that experience before in my life. I didnt mention it to too many people. I think Ray may have been the only person who knew I was attempting to keep Lent. Why talk about Lent when it happened months ago? Well, something happened a few days ago, and as I thought and pondered over this occurrence, it seemed my personal experience with Lent this year was brought back to my mind. I had prayed during Jan and Feb up until Fat Tuesday for God to show me what He thought I needed to give up... And of course He answered. Strange, it wasnt my coffee, chocolate, or late night bowls of cereal that I felt compelled to cease for 44 days... No, it was something much, much more difficult. I felt compelled to NOT SAY ONE NEGATIVE WORD for 44 days to my husband. I kid you not. May I say it was the most difficult 44 days of my life from a personal growth perspective. And may I add I would not be a good Catholic or Methodist. Cause Ill be honest (or else Ray will tell you)... I didnt not keep all 44 days perfect. I tried, but even with all my might... I slipped... only a couple of times though. So WHY tell this story? Because I observed an unkindness a few days ago by some dear people to an unsuspecting person. And I thought to myself, What if that person knew what they were doing and saying? How damaging it would be to the Christian testimony! Then I was reminded by God how we all need to PURGE ourselves from unkindness. God reminded me how hard it was for me to do it. Maybe its because Ive had the death of a loved one on my mind recently... Maybe its because Im growing old... old enough to be a grandmother... Maybe its because God wants me to grow as a Christian to a new level... I dont know, but I do know... I felt convicted over what I saw, and I didnt even participate in it. I also felt convicted for any unkindness Ive demonstrated towards others, even if they didnt know about it. I wasnt feeling well recently, and I lashed out... in front of others... Well, God has so graciously given me my own preacher... to live with... every day... hence my need for my personal Lent... and my preacher (Ray) reminded me of how unChristian it looked for me to lose it. And as bad as I hate to admit it, he was right (man that hurts to type those words)... After much prayer and soul-searching (you know, that beam that the Bible talks about) I wanted to share these words and my comforting scripture for us to remember... And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 So, what do you say? Anybody out there who will agree with me that we all could be a little kinder? If so, just say Amen!
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 14:52:18 +0000
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