Do you think kindness can change someones attitude or their actions? I do and I'll tell you when I first saw this play out in front of me.
For years my office has used the same store to have pictures developed (until they went digital). A few years ago, a new photo cashier was hired and every time (not exaggerating) I saw her, she had a bad attitude towards me. You know, very short, even somewhat mean when she answered my questions. Well, on this particular day, I happened to be waiting my turn, when I observed her treating the customer in front of me the same way. I had always wondered why "she didn't like me" and was always mean to me and now realized that it wasn't me at all. When it came my turn, I decided right then and there that no matter how "mean" she was to me I was going to be nice to her, speak kindly and say witty things to try and make her smile. As she checked in my film, I tried some "small talk" and said something funny to try and get a smile and . . . nothin. (Apparently, she didn't like small talk.) So, as I left I just smiled and said thank you. The next day, I came in to pick up my film and after some more small talk (nothing on her end) I said thank you and smiled again and she said, "no problem baby doll" and smiled back. I was stunned! She had never said that to me before or even cracked a smile before. I immediately knew that it was my attitude toward her (kind words and a simple smile) that changed hers toward me and she was like that with me from that moment on.
So I say this, to get you to think. How do you think kind words and a little respect would affect the driver who cut you off during rush hour, or the overtired waitress working the grave yard shift at Denny's, or the underpaid teacher working at a school in a crime ridden city, or the veteran who fought in wars for our country, or the 95 year old woman in the nursing home who'd spent her whole life as a nurse, or the teenager who thinks their life is upside down, or the husband who'd had a stressful day at work, or the stay at home mom who'd spent her day chasing a 2 year old and everything else that entails? How would your day be affected if the person in front of you in the drive-thru paid for your coffee or the person at the grocery store who had a hundred items saw you only had two and let you go before them?
Do you think that your husband would be positively affected by words of encouragement, or words that were only loving or affectionate?
Do you think that your wife would be positively affected by words of encouragement, or words that were only loving or affectionate?
Do you think that your child would be positively affected by words of encouragement, or words that were only loving or affectionate?
What if everyone only spoke kind words and "payed it forward"? Wouldn't this world be better? Would there be less pettiness, less strife, less depression, less runaways, less divorces, less hate? The answer? Well, for me its yes and I continue to try to live my life that way. Am I perfect? Hell no! But at least I'm trying and I can image a much better world for our children if we all just tried. So try and continue to try. Because, its not the actions of others toward you that you will be judged on but yours toward them.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
So, I've never blogged before, this will be my first attempt at it. Am I crazy for even trying this? I don't have enough time in a day already. But, I thought this would be a good way to express my thoughs and what God puts on my heart as well. So, as I continue to learn how to do this please bear with me and believe me when I say, GOOD THINGS ARE YET TO COME!
Here's a little bit of a my background for those of you who may read my blogs and don't know me. I am the oldest of five children (4 girls and 1 boy).
I grew up in a God fearing, Bible believing, church going, "Christ" living family. The reason I don't just say "Christian" family is because the true meaning of being "Christian" has been lost along the way and most people have a negative view of the word. I'll delve more into what I think about all that in a later post. How be it, whatever you may think of Christianity, I was trully blessed to grow up in such a family and it was truly a glorious foundation to be built upon. I attended both private schools and a public school during my schooling. I graduated high school from a private school that was so small that I graduated with only one other girl. It was a Christian school that was part of the church my family had attended for longer than I can remember. I am still close with all my friends from that church and school. Did I miss out on prom and other dances, football games and other such extra curricular activities going to such a small school? Yes, of course I did. Was I upset that I missed out on those things? I was for a time. But since having a family of my own, I see how insignificant that stuff really was and how absolutely significant the things I did receive, from attending such a small Christian school, really is. I was confident in relationships with people - my family, my friends, with myself and God. That's more than I can say for a whole lot of people I have known coming out of the public school system. My husband even says to me all the time, "most girls do", and I have to constantly remind him that I'm not "most girls" and that I didn't grow up in the kind of enviroment "most girls" grew up in.
I am married with one child, my Angel Boy --Samuel. I love him more than I can ever say. It is true that you don't know what "unconditional love" is until you have a child. It absolutely blows my mind and I can't tell you how often I struggle with knowing how far I fall short of having unconditional love for my husband and others in my life as well. Sam has shown me from the day he was born what true unconditional love really is. He is energetic, thoughtful, silly, fun natured, easy going, and smart as a whip. Through his eyes I've seen a whole new way (or maybe its not really new its just rediscovering how it used to be) to look at life and people and circumstances. He is the best kid, such a kind heart, I pray every day he stays just as he is.
I love my husband and my son very much and I love my family and my friends. I am in love with God -- with everything that is in me. However, my heart aches for another child. God hasn't blessed me with one yet, but I continue to have faith that the desires of my heart will be granted. I ache for my son because he doesn't know the joy of having a sibling and may never know. I ache for my husband because he doesn't know what its like to have a daughter and that it would change his life for the better. I ache for his parents because they have always desired a daughter and now desire a granddaughter. They say I am their daughter, and I know that I am God's way of giving that to them, but I still want to give that to them (but it's not really mine to give, is it). That is my ultimate desire, to one day have a daughter.
I pray everyday for the safety and blessings of my family and yet I still struggle with "are my prayers good enough, is God really listening to me, am I good enough to pray, are my words eloquent enough, do I even have the right to ask. But you know what God's been showing me lately? That His answer to all of those is "YES" and that I just need to have faith. That's what I'm learning right now, what is Faith, really? So if anyone has anything they can tell me about Faith . . . I'm all ears.
Here's a little bit of a my background for those of you who may read my blogs and don't know me. I am the oldest of five children (4 girls and 1 boy).
I grew up in a God fearing, Bible believing, church going, "Christ" living family. The reason I don't just say "Christian" family is because the true meaning of being "Christian" has been lost along the way and most people have a negative view of the word. I'll delve more into what I think about all that in a later post. How be it, whatever you may think of Christianity, I was trully blessed to grow up in such a family and it was truly a glorious foundation to be built upon. I attended both private schools and a public school during my schooling. I graduated high school from a private school that was so small that I graduated with only one other girl. It was a Christian school that was part of the church my family had attended for longer than I can remember. I am still close with all my friends from that church and school. Did I miss out on prom and other dances, football games and other such extra curricular activities going to such a small school? Yes, of course I did. Was I upset that I missed out on those things? I was for a time. But since having a family of my own, I see how insignificant that stuff really was and how absolutely significant the things I did receive, from attending such a small Christian school, really is. I was confident in relationships with people - my family, my friends, with myself and God. That's more than I can say for a whole lot of people I have known coming out of the public school system. My husband even says to me all the time, "most girls do", and I have to constantly remind him that I'm not "most girls" and that I didn't grow up in the kind of enviroment "most girls" grew up in.
I am married with one child, my Angel Boy --Samuel. I love him more than I can ever say. It is true that you don't know what "unconditional love" is until you have a child. It absolutely blows my mind and I can't tell you how often I struggle with knowing how far I fall short of having unconditional love for my husband and others in my life as well. Sam has shown me from the day he was born what true unconditional love really is. He is energetic, thoughtful, silly, fun natured, easy going, and smart as a whip. Through his eyes I've seen a whole new way (or maybe its not really new its just rediscovering how it used to be) to look at life and people and circumstances. He is the best kid, such a kind heart, I pray every day he stays just as he is.
I love my husband and my son very much and I love my family and my friends. I am in love with God -- with everything that is in me. However, my heart aches for another child. God hasn't blessed me with one yet, but I continue to have faith that the desires of my heart will be granted. I ache for my son because he doesn't know the joy of having a sibling and may never know. I ache for my husband because he doesn't know what its like to have a daughter and that it would change his life for the better. I ache for his parents because they have always desired a daughter and now desire a granddaughter. They say I am their daughter, and I know that I am God's way of giving that to them, but I still want to give that to them (but it's not really mine to give, is it). That is my ultimate desire, to one day have a daughter.
I pray everyday for the safety and blessings of my family and yet I still struggle with "are my prayers good enough, is God really listening to me, am I good enough to pray, are my words eloquent enough, do I even have the right to ask. But you know what God's been showing me lately? That His answer to all of those is "YES" and that I just need to have faith. That's what I'm learning right now, what is Faith, really? So if anyone has anything they can tell me about Faith . . . I'm all ears.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)