|
Dalton
Roberts |
||
|
MY SUNDAY JOURNAL GRABBING THE DOG In 1988 I was writing about sticking my nose in
something that was none of my business and found this verse in Proverbs:
"He that meddleth in strife not belonging to him is like one who
grabs a dog by his ears, a mad man casting firebrands." Think about all the strife in your life
right now. How much of it belongs to you? How much of it belongs to your
kids but you are trying to play God and buffer them from it? How much
belongs to a friend but you are being Sir Galahad and ride in to the
rescue? Unless you are a rare bird, one thing is
certain: You are meddling in a lot of strife that doesn't belong to you.
You are grabbing a dog by the ears and will be bitten – most likely by
the person you are trying to "rescue." Once I did a funny tape saying something
like this: Yes, I know you have problems. Everyone has problems. But if
I ignore my problems and work on yours, what will we do if mine get
worse? Looking back, I realize it was more true
that funny. A HIDDEN PAIN BUTTON One source of our pain and anger is a feeling
that we are doing work that doesn't come from the most real part of our
heart and mind. We have a tiny hidden feeling that we only have a
certain number of days and are going to spend them on things we don't
really love to do. We often hate part of what we are daily doing. Sometimes years of disappointment and pain
back up on us. At such times, we can take comfort that we have been good
stewards under difficult circumstances. We can remember the simple fact
that no person can relish all they have had to do in life. We can know
that all good work will stand and that the time will come when we will
be free to do things we love. Sometimes this kind of pain is as simple
as feeling unappreciated. We seldom get gushed over and who doesn't
enjoy being gushed over? There is no law that says we can't gush over
our own self. Give yourself a good self-appreciation
bath now and then. |