So I saw this sign the other day
and snapped a picture.
It made me stop and think.
And it made me wonder: Are the words written on it true??
What about you?
Do you think the sign speaks truth?
When you think of the last days, weeks,
months and years are there people that you can’t
remember what they said or what they did,
but you can remember how they made you feel?
The first person who popped in my head
was my English teacher from 7th and 8th grade.
That was many, many, many years ago
and yet, he’s the first guy who popped in my head.
He could tell my home life was a wreck
{the symptoms were pretty obvious if
anyone had been paying attention
and frankly most weren’t}.
That handsome
{what can I say, I totally had a crush on him but would have
never admitted it}
reached out with genuine concern.
He cared.
He made me feel like I had value.
I think there is something very ponderish
about this season of my life…
and since reading the sign,
I’ve been remembering
people from my past
and some from more recently…
and the way they’ve made me feel.
Some really good feelings and some not-so-good.
And I’d say, there’s a whole lot of truth to the sign.
It’s challenged me.
How do I make others feel when
they’re around me?
And then just today,
I had to stop and apologize to total strangers.
Ruby’s wheelchair had broken.
Which means I had to drive over an hour
to get it fixed.
Ruby had been up for almost four hours in the
night and so the night had been short.
I’m not making excuses,
just saying, it had been a short night
or long night, whichever way you
want to look at it.
So as I arrived at the wheelchair shop,
for the umpteenth time, because it has
broken a bazillion times,
I wasn’t feeling super excited.
We were squeezing in the wheelchair
repair before a pre-op appointment for
another of my treasures.
{More on that in the days to come.}
After explaining to the girls at the desk
how this wheelchair had been trouble
since the day we got it
the guy came out to repair it.
I showed him how it was completely
broken and now was actually
very dangerous to Ruby.
He looked annoyed at me and questioned,
“What’d ya’ do to it?”
Well not only the way he said it but what he was actually
accusing me of
did not make me feel warm and fuzzy.
I did maintain myself,
but reaching up and grasping a bit of my silver hair on the
side of my head, I actually questioned him,
“Wait! You think I did something to it?
Do you really think I look like the type
who intentionally broke her wheelchair?
I live an hour from here.
My daughter actually has
quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy,
do you think she was capable of
completely breaking it?”
Oh me.
An hour later another repairman returned it to
me. Of course I asked him what they had found
wrong with it. He told me the base had
gone on it and they had replaced the entire base.
Anyway, the point is that sure enough
one accusing repairman had not made me
feel very sweet.
Yet, I reflected on how I probably sounded a bit frustrated
to the young women at the front desk
when I had first arrived.
So as I was leaving I stopped,
“Excuse me ladies.”
Both turned toward me and gave me their attention.
I continued,
“When I came in I felt rather frustrated
and I am so sorry for being grumpy with you ladies.
Would you please forgive me?”
They both said they would.
I love when people make me feel valued.
I want others to be sure that they feel valued
by me as well.
Even if it means I have to apologize
to total strangers.
Life’s too short to do anything but.
I've been wondering how in the world you function on so little sleep. Good for you for making the situation right. And grace to you for handling even the grumpy part as well as you did!
I know what you mean about reflective. Recently a sewing friend died suddenly with a brain haemorrhage. I don't know if she was a Christian…possibly not. But the one thing that I started realising about her was that she Truly was someone 'who never had a bad word to say about anyone.' Hmmm. So, the Lord said, "this is a mirror, I want you to look in it". Well, not quite! 😉 But it seemed as if it was a mirror whenever I described her that way to anyone.
So, I have been trying to be conscious about words before I say them and/or instead of saying them. At the very least, I don't want anyone to say the opposite of me, but I sure hope that from now on, there will be enough cause to say that I have said good things about someone.
All the best for frustrations!
And I will be praying for the upcoming op.
Love from Sandy
Bless you for apologizing to the women. 🙂 I always feel that people in service positions like theirs must frequently deal with grumpy people, although they are not at fault. I'm sure they appreciated your kindness! And I'm sure that isn't your usual approach. 🙂 I surprised the young man who slings the garbage bins to the truck every week, by mentioning how fit he must be. He was so pleased! I figure it's just human kindness and Golden Rule behaviour to acknowledge the many people who help me. I hope the replaced base will solve the troubles with Ruby's chair! Glad it's fixed. samm