- Not The Only One !
- Post# 49
- GRACE!
- I hope that things are going well for you guys out there, amongst the continuing and on going pandemic, accompanied by escalating inflation. In spite of all of that, I still continue to say welcome and thank you so much for checking in or dropping by, which ever you prefer ☺️. This post was inspired by a dear, dear friend, whom, I encountered one day, let’s just say, off of their meds. We have from time to time touched on mental health issues and we get and acknowledge how serious it can be for some, at specific times. This post may seem a little bit crossways, when I know what is coming next week. Grace should most definitely be synonymous with patience, and I think that we far to often judge others while they are having a bad day, or at their worst moments. We very rarely take a moment or two, to step into someone’s else’s shoes, and attempt to empathize with them. I think we are far to critical of other people, when we see them at their worst, and this may not be the best representation of who they are or hope to be. Truth be told, we very rarely know what someone else is walking through at any particular time or moment. They may have just received the worst news ever about a loved one passing away unexpectedly, or it could be the complete opposite of that with the news of a new grandchild that was just born, with all of its toes and fingers ☺️☺️. Every day at any given time and moment, we are all subject to the highs and lows of life. These mountain top and valley experiences are not usually a common Every day type of event, but for most of us we find ourselves in the in between moments of life. I mean , let’s face it, who could stand that much exhilaration in their lives twenty-four, – seven, and the other is true as well. If you find someone constantly living in the valleys of life, they would probably be characterized as severely depressed and may be possibly thinking about ending it all. There are very few places in life where Grace is not needed. I believe that we sometimes put people up on pedestals , based on some accolades or achievements in life that very few people get to ever experience. So, whether its something in the the sporting arena, such as being a seven time Superbowl champ, or some great academic achievement, such as a Nobel prize, or someone with a brilliant idea for some new innovation, such as a rechargeable light bulb, and yes such a thing exist, we have a tendency to idolize these individuals . However, when they slip or fall from grace, based on some poor choices that they made, we swing to the other end of the spectrum to ridicule or demonize them. We forget that they are human, just like everyone else, and their most guilty sin may have just being in the public spotlight, so all can draw an opinion about their misfortune, and downward turn of events. Lance Armstrong comes to mind, and I will follow with where is or was the grace?. There seems to be an epidemic of crazy driving out on the roads all across America. I try to remind myself that I was once young and did some terribly stupid things out on the roads and highways. However, this isn’t just about young or seasoned, or even a male – female thing, it’s just seems as if everyone is in a rush to meet their maker, or at least reserve themselves a room at the local hospital.☺️☺️ Look around and you understand why road rage is a thing. Sometimes you need so much Grace out on the highways, you wonder if there will be any left over for when you get home and discover that the dog went on the carpet again. It may look something like after forty-five minutes in traffic to get home, you wonder why your husband didn’t do something for dinner for the kids, in stead of waiting on you to get home to handle it. What is it with someone doing or attempting to do something stupid in traffic? , then they flip you the bird, like it was your fault that they weren’t successful with their daredevil stunt that almost landed them in a three car pile up. My favorite is flipping you the bird as they speed away, probably not something that they would have the guts to do if we were sitting in gridlock traffic and we could make eye contact ☺️☺️. So there is traffic and the sometimes not very helpful spouse. Did we forget about how much grace is needed with the kids? Here we have a wide birth of grace needed depending on the age group. Yeah, they are really cute when they are little, but as they start growing up….not so much! Do you remember how excited you were for them to take their first steps or to speak that first mama or dada. Then it came around to them following you all around the house, with the constant borage of questions about are we there yet? , when in the car. When is dad getting home? And they get older, the challenges on grace become more demanding as they see you as an ATM machine, asking the same questions over and over again, hoping to wear you down after you have already told them no a dozen times. And then there is always the lack of truthfulness, or shall we say the omission of certain facts ☺️☺️. I believe, when it comes to teenagers, it’s trust them, but verify at the same time☺️☺️. Family in general can be a challenge, we all, have those weird relatives that we wish to keep at arm distance, but the holidays roll around and you know that you are going to encounter that aunt or uncle who always wants to make politics the center stage theme, after all, who needs this baby Jesus stuff? ☺️ Has there ever been a better reason to avoid certain members of the family, then the constant borage of when are you going to meet a nice person and settle down. Oh!, and if you have found the someone, the constant pressure about making them grandparents and what a joy kids can be. In your head you are just thinking, why on earth did we come here, and why can’t they just mind their own business? How about coworkers ?, they can potentially suck up all of the grace that you could ever muster up. Some are confined to offices, and others to cubicles, and regardless of the setting, some just don’t grasp the concept of personal space, you know the ones I’m talking about. If they aren’t infringing on some food item that you have in the fridge, they are constantly stopping by your office with some cute story about their kids, or sharing something that clearly belongs in the TMI category, and you can’t some how believe that they aren’t picking up on how uncomfortable they are making you at this very moment☺️☺️. Talking about grace being drained out at an extreme level. I think one of my favorites is the parents at the kids soccer match, or whatever sport they are engaged in. There always seems to be a parent or two that just always knows all of the calls that the referees missed, and some how, they are just somehow louder than the PA system, aka , no megaphone required ☺️☺️. If they aren’t on the referees, then it’s about how stupid the coach is, yes ,the coaches biggest mistake was having their kid on his team☺️☺️. Here’s another one for you that can deplete grace at an alarming rate. Do you have those fair weather friends that you only hear from, when they have a need in their life, or some problem ? It doesn’t have to be financial in nature, but could be. They will ask you for relationship advice, that you know that they aren’t going to accept or follow. They may have a demon child that has chased away the last two dozen or so babysitters and now they think you should give it a go.☺️. They may be the type that just wants to vent, but you aren’t allowed to interject . Maybe it is that neighbor who wants to borrow something for their lawn, however, they have not returned the last three things that they borrow from you, and you don’t want to bring it up, because clearly they have taken a label maker out, put their names on it and are either waiting for you to ask to borrow it back, or you just break down and buy a new one of whatever it is they borrowed. Here’s another great one speaking of neighbors, how about the one who just can’t seem to keep their dog from doing their business in your yard. Now, I’m not sure if I’m talking about extending grace, or perhaps we should be talking boundaries. Well one thing is for sure, the Hatfields and the McCoy’s, never had issues like this☺️☺️. I make light of some of the situations, and yet there is always more. There is a whole other category of individuals that I like to refer to as” EGRs”. These are individuals that no matter what the time, place, or the setting, Extra Grace is Required to deal with them, or in an exchange with them. I mean to be perfectly honest, if you had some way to avoid them and the interaction, that would always be the premo choice. They seem to be the type that is just perpetually in a bad mood, a grumpy old man comes to mind, but doesn’t specifically have to be that. They don’t enjoy life or people, or much of anything else, and they do their best to make sure that you share in their misery and discontent. Some people find life or make life harder than it has to be, and their outlook on things is some what similar to someone just letting all of the air out of a balloon. When you met them or before said encounter you were full, and post encounter nothing could be further from the truth, just exhausting . It’s almost as if they can’t even think of one single positive thing in life to be thankful for or be seen as something to be grateful for. They seem to be annoyed by people just drawing breath and by the time it’s all over with ,you just wish that they would stop engaging in the process themselves. ☺️☺️My slant or perspective here, is that these individuals are selfish in nature and make everything about themselves. They view people and situations ,all through the prism of how do I make this work best for me, and for it to come out with ” Me” , somehow on top, or statistically ahead. Often as you are listening to them speaking, while throwing others under the bus, you wonder if they are even listening to the words coming out of their mouths . Its almost as if they have some kind of disconnect , while continuing on with their God complex, or at least how their wants and needs are more important than everybody else’s Again, a little extreme and some what tongue and cheek, but if you haven’t encountered difficult people, you must be living in a bubble, or under a rock. These examples may not appear as moments of grace on the surface, be it traffic, kids, funky relatives, neighbors, or co-workers, but we all find ourselves at times having to holding it together by a thread. Grace sometimes is like forgiveness, it seems to go to those who least or don’t deserve it, but somehow need it most. It shows up in all kinds of shapes and forms. It could be paying for someone’s purchase in front of you at the grocery store who left their wallet at home, while dealing with rambunctious kids. It may be sitting with a dear, dear friend after the loss of a spouse, when there are just no words, or at least no correct words that’s going to soothe a hurting heart. Here is one that we often just take for granted, and maybe feel a little entitled about, and that is in the area of customer service. I’m pretty sure that these people often feel like punching bags for the public at large. We often forget that they usually aren’t paid well and more importantly are trying to help us to resolve whatever the issue is. I know that at that particular moment we are not happy for whatever reason, and they are the face of the company, and we need to rain down all of our frustration and dissatisfaction on this one particular person. Its the equivalent of holding the server responsible for the food being bad ,they are responsible for the service, but they are rarely doubling as the chef. I know that many of you work in health care and often with the elderly and often to sometimes, with memory issues and grace isn’t just needed, but can also be challenging. Grace is often just jumping in to help without regards for yourself and your own well being , and not really sure how it will turn out. I could probably go on here, and perhaps ripple across the strings of your hearts, depending on your sensitivity level . I’m not going to do that, but in parting I want to encourage us all, including myself, to be just maybe a tad bit more patient with others, and maybe step back ,take a deep breath and try to get a view of the big picture, because Often things aren’t what they seem to be on the surface. I know that in our fast pace society of everything should have been done yesterday, it can be rough to consider others before ourselves, especially when it is someone we don’t know, or have very limited information about their particular situation. In a trying circumstance or a specific moment in time that could range from a few seconds to something substantially longer, grace would be treating others the way that we wished, or hoped ,someone else had treated you or would deal with us. One more before I go and let you return to your regularly scheduled programming ☺️☺️☺️. In life ,the things that pop up as urgent are rarely important in the grand scheme of things. At the same time, the things that may seem least or less urgent and traumatizing are the more important in life. Call your parents and tell them that you love them, if you are still blessed to have them. Hug your children and let them know how proud you are of them, if for nothing else, then for just making it this far in life. I can promise you that whichever side you find your self on here , there will be no regrets and that there are countless others who would be happy to exchange places with you because the opportunity no longer exist for them.
- Till next time ✌️peace!
- Sandy The Southerner
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