Faithful Fridays ~ A Little More Than Necesary

Hi everyone!  I just want to quickly say that I am HOME SWEET HOME.  :D  I am feeling so much better.  We were in the hospital for nine days and nine nights...yep, that's over a week and that's the longest we've ever had to stay!  I didn't get to dance at the Chinese New Year festival, but my teacher was able to wear my costume and join in in my place, so that was good.  :)  My mama and I really believe that one of the reasons God had me in that place at that time could be that He was planting a seed--a seed to maybe serve someone in that situation in the future, or to give me compassion toward someone with something similar to what I was there with, or to even make me want to be a nurse or something!  Who knows.  :)

All right...time for Faithful Fridays!  :)

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Faithful Fridays is a weekly "meme" hosted on my blog.  I made it so that Christians could have one day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog.  If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post!  :)

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"Always be a little kinder than necessary."

-J.M. Barrie

Okay, we hear it all the time.  Be nice to people.  Just be a little kinder, you never know when you might make someone's day!

And we're like, "Yeah, that sounds great!" and we make up our minds to be kind to people and stuff.

But (at least for me), I don't remember that resolve when I am around that one person I just cannot stand!  I don't think we remember that when someone graces us with the gift of their rude (lousy) driving.  We usually don't remember it when that rude, grumpy cashier is giving us an attitude.

Or maybe we don't remember when that one girl is by herself.  You know, we watch movies and read stories of how one person made a difference when they approached the "outcast," but I think sometimes we hear these stories so much that we kind of lose the meaning and don't grasp it and let it all seep in and become real.  So we just see that girl and we're like, "Oh, well, she's not really being picked on, and besides, she's annoying."  And we just leave her be, even after all the stories, even after resolving to be kinder than necessary to people.

I do this!  I make these little promises to myself and decide I'm going to be really nice, and then someone comes along, whether it be a family member, a friend, or that one person that just gets under my skin, and I find myself snapping at them and being grumpy and rude.  And sometimes that little promise sticks its head up again and says, "What about me?" and I defend myself with a, "But you can't expect me to do that in this situation!"

But that is when Jesus is tenderly taking our hands and saying, "My child, these are the times when you need to keep your promise the most."

"Therefore encourage each other and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

-1 Thessalonians 5:11

And it's hard.  We want to pull away from this little push on our hearts, telling us to do what we know is right.  I want to pull away.  But if we choose to be kind...well, it might make you cringe at first.  It might be a bit painful.  It might make you feel like you're the one losing, like you're just letting the other person walk all over you.  

This is love or this is hate,

We all have a choice to make

Oh, Father, won't You forgive them,

They don't know what they've been doing

Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them,

'Cause I feel like the one losing

-"Losing" by Tenth Avenue North

But keep doing what you're doing, even if the other person is not responding or not reciprocating any of that kindness.  And you will start to feel love toward that person.

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"

-Psalm 133:1

Sometimes the action comes first and the feeling comes after.

God bless you guys,

Joy :)