so long, farewell

Hey all!

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm not going to be writing entries for a few weeks.  I am going to meet with an agent at the Nebraska Writer's Guild spring conference.  I'll be sharing the book I'm working on.  It is still pretty raw and I have a lot of work to do to get it ready.  Anyway, I love writing the blog entries so I will keep doing them eventually.  Thanks to those of you who are faithful followers and to all for the positive feedback, encouragement, and support from the beginnings of my blogging journey til now! 

that crazy plank

Let me just say that I hate being judged.  Do you know what I mean?  The kind of judgment you feel boring a hole into your heart when you do something in public that seems out of the ordinary, unconventional, or just plain wrong.  Prime example:  My three-year-old, who shall remain nameless, threw a tantrum in the store the other day.  She played ‘wet noodle’ when I went to pick her up, and all the way out the door I felt the humiliation of it.  People stared at me condemningly.  I can just imagine what they were thinking, ‘What a bad mother she must be.  She has such poor control over her own child.’

Jesus once said, “Do not judge or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1 –NIV)

Such great wisdom.   I know because I used to be so judgmental myself.  I may have never said anything out loud, but I could condemn others with the best of them.   Oh, how I used to judge – for what I perceived to be poor parenting, or lack of self-control, or  weight,  or clothes worn.  If someone didn’t act like I thought they should, or walk, or talk, or be what I thought they should be, I judged them.  And let me just say, I was pretty harsh in my judgments.  No one, I mean no one, got a perfect ten from me.  But there were plenty who received subpar scores.  Now I just have to sit back and laugh.  Who did I think I was back then sitting on my throne judging any and everyone based on my principles, my standards?

I guess what I’m learning is the old adage,” You never know what another person’s life is like until you walk in their shoes for a bit.”  I like to call it ‘Seeing the Big Picture’.   It’s no fun when one of my little ones acts like a terror and leaves me humiliated in front of a family member, friend, or stranger.  But lately I’ve been dealing with it this way reminding myself that those judging me don’t see the whole picture.  They’re only catching a glimpse or a snapshot at the moment.

Seeing the bigger picture is important.  Remembering that you don’t know the person’s story, or circumstances, or situations is a good starting point.  After all you don’t want other people judging you , do you?   Remember what Jesus said, ‘With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ‘

It’s funny how we can point out others weaknesses and shortcomings more than we catch those things in ourselves.  In fact, many times, the thing I’m critical about in another is just as glaringly obvious in my own life.   Just because I don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.  This reminds me of a teaching that Jesus once shared:

Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ‘  (Luke 6:41-NIV)

So the next time you feel like ‘getting up into someone else’s business’ take a good long look in the mirror.  If you find a plank there, you’ll probably want to remove it.  After all, you don’t want to poke your friend’s eye out.