I know you’ve all heard it before, but right now I’m reminded of an old (and probably VERY overused) saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20 (esv)
James is one of my favorite books in the Bible, but WOW, is that convicting or what?! I’m learning a huge lesson about that verse right now. I think a biggest lesson to take away from this verse is the way you initially respond to rough situations in life.
One thing I’ve noticed since being on the WR is that I can go from zero to butt-head in about 2 seconds flat. I used to be the “doormat” if you will, but since being on the WR I’ve learned that I need to stand up for myself. There was a period of time though, that even that wasn’t pleasant. People would give me feedback about something I did or said, and if I didn’t like it, I would let them know what I thought, pretty quickly. This verse above though, speaks so strongly to me about what I need to do in situations I don’t necessarily like. It’s completely ok to be upset or angry, but the important part is that you learn to channel that anger in a positive way, and more importantly for me, a way that doesn’t hurt others in the process. Our words really do have the ability to speak life into people or to bring death. So our response is a critical part to every situation we face.
Just being completely honest, there have been times in the past 11 months, that we’ve had some “knock down drag out” feedback sessions. It’s hard to sit there and hear somebody basically pick you apart, telling you what they liked about things you did, and then telling you things that they’ve noticed that you need to change. Immediately you wanna put your defenses up and start throwing punches, but that doesn’t show strength much at all. No, the real strength comes in the ability to stay calm, hear their feedback with your heart, process it, and take it before the Lord. A quick response is usually a sign that you’re hiding something or that you’re not proud or that area of you life. Some days it sucks. I hate some of the feedback I get, but learning to have self-control is the key. If it’s something that doesn’t apply, that’s ok too. Just take what they say, let it roll off your back, and be confident in who you know that the Lord has made you to be.
I’m not actually sure where all that I just wrote came from, cause oddly enough, that wasn’t why I started this blog, haha. The reason I originally started this blog was to say, the World Race has been full of disappointments. They tell you first thing at training camp to drop all your expectations of the next 11 months, and honestly, it is the absolutely best advice you can possibly get. Sadly, for me, I didn’t take it to heart. So, I’ve had a lot of expectations this year that didn’t get met. Whether it be ministry placements, countries, team changes, etc. Many points during the race, I’ve been let down. It hasn’t been easy, but it has taught me so much about who I am as a person and how I respond to situations. There have been times that I’ve completely flown off the handle for the most minute reasons. Here lately though, I’m learning to take those frustrations and channel them in different ways. Again, it is 100% ok to be upset or pissed off about something, but it’s all about your response. That is where your character is tested and where you have the ability to impact or offend. You can be frustrated inwardly, but words that are spoken outwardly can never be taken back. You can ask for forgiveness and apologize, but people will never forget the way you made them feel. Hard lessons learned.
Love yall.
