I don't even know where to start….The last couple of days have been awkward for me, like stretching to the max. I don't enjoy confrontation…..not one little bit. And when I say that, I really mean it! I will eat it, take the fall, suck it up, bite the bullet, and pretty much allow all sorts of crappy stuff to happen to me in order to avoid having to confront someone or create a situation where conflict might arise. And I excuse myself for it all in the name of Grace….."well God gave us grace, so shouldn't we also give others grace?" Yes! Absolutely we should. But do we just turn a blind eye when we see others taking advantage and causing injustice? Even though I can see that something might not be right, Do I not say anything, because I have grace?
Grace: Unmerited favour
Injustice: Violation of another's rights or of what is right; lack of justice. A specific unjust act; a wrong.
I had an injustice occur to me just this week, and I chose to "show grace".
The reason that I chose to "show grace" is because I didn't want to create conflict or confront the person that had wronged me. It was easier for me to sit back and allow something unpleasant to happen to me than to stand up for myself.
Hahaha…..Not gonna get away with it so easily this time!
…..so I have this amazing friend, I might even go so far as to call her my mentor. And she hates getting ripped off, and loves to get deals whenever and wherever she can. She excels at it. And when she heard what was happening to me she was absolutely adamant that I needed to stand up for myself. Her exact words were,"you are being taken advantage of, and you need to stand up to this woman!" to which I was like,"oh no, I'm just gonna show grace in this situation, its okay…." When really I knew it wasn't okay, but was scared of what might happen if I did anything about it.
Well, Debbie pushed me, she did not want me to back down, or allow someone to take advantage of me. And so I took a huge leap and sent this person an email (lol, I know! An email, huge leap right?) I stated all the facts of the situation right up front and basically refused to back down and allow myself to be taken advantage of. You have no idea how hard it was for me to press the send button. All nervous and shaky, I even called Debbie and prayed with her on the phone before I sent it.
This morning I received an email……and although I did not get eveything that I requested I did get what I needed. Which in my books is more than enough. Thank you Lord!
God is teaching me new things everyday, and through this I learned a valuable lesson…..Although I do not like confrontation sometimes you need to stand up for yourself and not back down in the face of adversity, no matter if it makes you uncomfortable or not. When you stand up for yourself (and others) you show strength, and even if in the end you don't win the battle at least you have not been too scared to fight. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Look at some of histories great leaders, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, George Washington. All of these men fought against injustice, no matter how awkward. They stood up for themselves, their countries, and their people, and did not back down. And if they had not we might be living in a very different world right now.
Although I did nothing even close to freeing people from slavery, or a country from British rule (FYI I love the British) I most definitely won the war that was going on inside myself. And I feel like sending that little email was just the beginning for me. God is encouraging me to be bolder, more courageous, to stand up for myself, others, what I believe in, and for what is righteous.
Proverbs 28:1
..the righteous are as bold as a lion.
