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Wednesday, July 12, 2006

the mosquitoes of life....


*revised*


There are certain things that bother most people. Bugs such as bees, spiders, and mosquitoes usually are not high on lists of favorite things. Screaming babies on long airplane flights... you get the picture. True, not everyone agrees on what is annoying. For example, whistling makes me crazy. It doesn't matter if you are the world's best whistler with perfect pitch, for some reason whistling is for me what nails on a blackboard is for other folks. It takes everything in me to not smack someone upside the head and scream "stop making that awful noise!!!" Of course, if I were to ever do that, someone might have me taken to a mental institution. After all, it's not normal to scream at people who are happily whistling.

I'm sure that everyone can relate, since there is no one in the world who doesn't have at least one thing that gets under their skin...just a little. I am also sure that the Lord is stretching me in this particular annoyance. Perhaps more accurately, He is continuing to teach me patience. Generally speaking I am patient...but specifically I'm learning how to be patient with people and things that would otherwise make me crazy--whistlers, people who drive two miles under the speed limit, older folks who call me dearie and miss, you get the picture. I am learning that even though I don't often realize it, I am selfish and self-centered more often than I would like to admit. So when I say that the Lord is teaching me patience, I really mean that He is teaching me to die to myself and learn to experience and give to others the Love and Grace He has already given to me.


May you have patience for those things that bother you and otherwise make you crazy, and the courage to let God take you out of your self and mold you into His image.

4 comments:

Joshua said...

Thanks for the Soap babe - I love you. Good thoughts.
Cheers

Eli said...

Found you Sarah... I had no idea whistling drove you crazy!! : )

Sarah said...

Thank you for your comment on my blog. You're right, perhaps I need to be more open to other people's opinions, especially when they differ from my own. I also know that the internet--and the world at large--is not the safest place, and that people have their reasons for not wanting the world to know their identity. If I was in a situation that caused me to fear for my safety, or if my inbox was inundated with spam all the time, I would at least stop to think before signing up for yet another thing online. Funny, though, that your blog doesn't allow anonymous posts...

My issue really isn't that I don't want to hear criticism...trust me, I deal with it all the time. My issue is this--people who post a comment that contains critique of character, mine or someone else's. If you are a stranger, who knows nothing about me, my dreams, my fears, my daily life --except for what you read in my blog--how can you tell me what I'm doing right or wrong? Specifically, in this case, how can you tell me that I don't LOVE people enough or the way I'm supposed to? How can you tell me that perhaps I read to much about the Bible and not enough of the real thing? I would never walk up to someone I didn't know and tell them what I thought about their character or their religious practices based on the slogan on their t-shirt or how they wore their hair. Some things don't tell you anything about the person inside. If a friend --someone who cares about me and has established the right to speak correction and critique into my life--wants to say something to me, I would hope that they would not feel the need to stay anonymous. When the Bible talks about confronting your brother or sister about an issue, it doesn't say send them an anonymous letter or go to them with a mask on because it's easier that way. Loving others means speaking into their lives what needs to be said...sometimes that is dangerous and it's always hard.

In the end, I don't post things on my blog to start internet feuds or piss people off. I write to clear my head, to share what random thoughts I am thinking, and yes sometimes to vent. Everyone does that and is entitled to their own opinion. It would be one thing if I was spewing hate propaganda--like all people who wear denim jeans should be burned at the stake, or something equally ridiculous--but I'm not. Free speech, right? Well, then don't tell me who I am or what I should be doing less or more of. If you have something to say about my post, fine. But if you feel the need to critique my character or tell me that I'm reading too much of man's opinion and not enough of the Word, I'd rather you keep it to yourself.

Sarah said...

This is the original section that Anonymousblogcomments is referring to. See my "grace under fire" post if you don't know why this has been taken out of the post and placed here in the comments...


"I could probably go on for hours about what makes me nuts, but I have one soap box to stand on quickly...I promise I'll jump off it as soon as I make my point.

ANONYMOUS....When my eyes come across this word, I cringe. The word comes from Greek rootage meaning "without name." Most of the time, people use this because they want to withhold their identity for whatever reason, but usually it is not because they are nameless. Female authors used to publish their writing as anonymous when it wasn't socially acceptable for women to write. Sometimes the word it attached to quotes, often when the person quoting doesn't have any idea where the quote came from. But when this word shows up on blogs, especially in the comments section, it makes me want to scream. If you're going to say something nice, okay...I guess I don't mind if you want to stay anonymous. However, if you are going to critique, abuse, argue, or anything else negative...please have the decency to leave your name. For me even initials would be better than the A-word. In my opinion, leaving an anonymous post is cowardly. If you feel strongly enough about something to leave a comment, be brave enough to identify yourself. Have the guts to own up to your opinions and viewpoints. I know that there are ways to hide yourself, even without the use of the A-word. My challenge to anyone who feels inclined to hide their identity is DON'T. Take responsibility and ownership for your actions, opinions, and blog comments.

Alright, this is me stepping off my soap box...."