9,573... give or take a few. That’s how many pop tabs I have sitting on a shelf in my room, all neatly organized in little tubs. I find them constantly; in the drawers of my dresser, in every bag I own, inside my shoes, even between my sheets. You might say I’m a little obsessed with those things, but no, I don’t have enough. ;) I have my little ‘minions’ who collect them for me. I see huge potential with each one of those tiny pieces of pressed metal. I make pop tab bracelets mainly, but have also made key chains, and belts before. I may experiment with headbands, earrings, necklaces, purses, and such soon. I love to take things most people would simply throw away, and make something incredible. I don’t see something broken, dirty, or unwanted.... I love to look past the dust, dirt, and rust, and see what it can be. I don’t like to throw out anything that could possibly be reused or re purposed. That’s why under my bed is full of what most people would call junk. I don’t see worthless, I see underneath what is NOW, and what a little work could make it to be. I think the same view on animals. I tend to fall in love with the runts of the litter; the ones no one wants; the weak, sick, helpless ones that need extra care. Bunnies, dogs, cats, birds, all of the above. Two to three years ago, our cat had kittens. It was love at first sight! Five little fluff balls. I loved all of them! But, I grew extra attached to Kegan, he was black, and about half the size of the others, and slightly mange-y looking. Because he was so small, he couldn't win the fight for a meal. So, for the next five weeks, every three-ish hours, I would mix up milk replacer and baby cereal in a medicine dropper, feed the little guy, and help him 'do his duty' so to speak. He didn't grow much, and he continued to be incredibly skinny; you could feel his bones, yet his stomach felt like it could explode. He hung in there though. One thing I loved about him was that he grew very comfortable around me. All the others were held and such, but this one was special. No one else cared too much for him, when we held kittens, he was the last one to get picked to be played with. But, He would be so relaxed around me, I was his Momma. I anticipated his every need. However, the moment anyone else held him, he would freak. out. Meowing as loud as his frail little lungs would allow and trying with all the strength he could muster up to get away. His teeter-y little legs couldn't carry him far, but as soon as I picked up the little guy and held him close, he sensed who it was, and he was fine. No one else saw what I saw in him; I must say, he was an ugly thing, but I loved him! I believe we should have the same outlook on everyone else, no matter who they are. You don’t know where they’ve been, or where they’re from. They may be rough on the outside, but they have potential (*yells, "POTENTIAL"). Some may label them ‘junk’, but God never will. You are no better than anyone else!!!! You may have health, they may not. You have Him (hopefully, if not, please read this), something they don’t, but you had nothing to do with it, and they need Him too! Don’t look down on them, unless you are helping them up. I desire to see everyone through God’s eyes. Each person is special; each life is precious. Some may need a little extra work, a little extra love, but it’s worth the effort. Just because someone's different ( or irritating) don't push them away, learn to love them. So what is wrong with us? We are critical of each other. We complain about our differences (more like similarities - whether we will admit it or not). We are quick to point out everyone's faults, while overlooking our own. We gossip of others failures, with no intention of helping them. We complain about the actions of others, but not our own. We are critical and belittling of everyone but ourselves. Not only are we this way, we do it behind the other persons back. I can't take it! I see and hear it everywhere, and unfortunately, specifically in the house of God, or among church family. Stop the madness! We talk of a prideful personality of so-and-so with a heart full of pride ourselves. We talk of how so-and-so thinks they're better than everyone else - only to better ourselves. Why point out that a brother or sister in Christ thinks they know it all, when you can't take an instruction yourself. (Matt. 7.3-5) Get the beam out of your life, so you can see clearly to get the mote out of someone elses life. I have no doubt I can be an annoyance to others; there are things about me, I'm sure, that others don't like, as there are in your life. I fail daily, I can't be critical of others' failures, just to be critical - neither can you. Annoyances are a part of life. There will always be things that brush us the wrong way and grate on our nerves. Some minor, others, not so much. Everyone has their pet peeves. But you learn to live with them. I have many, I could write a book. My OCD adds to them. My biggest one's have definitely come up a lot lately. Here are a few of the ones that I can not deal with; they drive me crazy. -Poor sports. People who always have to win, be right, or have everything go their way. They will lie, change rules, whatever. They can obviously be in the wrong, and plainly cheat, but they won't take it.They will blame anything else other than themselves for their failure. And things must go their way. If you try to correct them, or not do what they want you to do, they get mad, hit you, say they don't like you.... anything to prove their point.... whatever that may be. Either way, they are always right, they know it all, call the shots, and things always have to go their way. Otherwise, you will get hurt - in more ways than one. The accused will crush your spirit, use words that will pierce your heart through, break you emotionally, or hurt you physically - even for no reason. -Secondly, cliques; when people block the way of others to get close to a certain person. "Owning" the person, so to speak, and literally, pushing others out of the way of getting near them. This one, I don't feel I have the right to say or do much about because, I am guilty of being extremely clingy when I was little...... maybe even now too - hopefully not. But maybe I have more authority in this than I think. But, when does a situation turn from something you must tolerate, or 'live with', to something we must bring up? When do we speak up, and when should we shut up? At what point do we ignore, and control or change ourself... and at what point should we talk it out, and express the overwhelming emotions? When is it something uncontrollable - or changeable? We aren't perfect, I know that. And, I can only imagine what people think of me! However, some things shouldn't be tolerable; sometimes you shouldn't have to be the 'peace-maker'. Sometimes, I tend to be in the middle of the youth group.... caught between two sides in a situation, such as the described, and I care about both sides. I feel the emotion of either party, but, often shrink in uncertainty of what to do. At times, in these situations, I loose it. These are two areas where I can easily 'loose it'. But, when is it a situation we need to 'get off ourselves', quit being selfish, and get over it? Or, when is it a situation that really must be dealt with? Either way, there are things we all do that annoy. We need to stop being so critical of them - especially the little stuff. Fix yourself before you try to fix someone else. If you absolutely can't stand someone, don't ignore them, learn to love them. Love the unlovable. They often need it most. The think I never want to be is fake. I never want to be so fake Barbie becomes jealous. I don't want to look down on people, unless I am helping them up. I never try to force emotion. If I express something to you, trust me, it's real. I don't want to put on a 'show' of my life. I'm not performing for anyone. A long time ago, I chose God's 'script'. I only know one scene at a time, in fact, I'm learning it as I go. I'll mess up my 'lines', I'll trip up on stage, but this isn't dress-rehearsal, this is the real deal. It isn't acting, it's reality drama. This is me. This is my life.
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Lizzy parkerMarriage.
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January 2023
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