I CRIED LAST NIGHT, HERE’S WHY
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.’ Matthew 5:9
‘“How joyful you are when you make peace! For then you will be recognized as a true child of God.’ Matthew 5:9 TPT
Raise your hand if you’ve ever typed an email, then deleted it, knowing it would probably piss someone off? I’ve got both arms raised. The same rings true for me on Instagram. I can’t tell you how many times I scroll through something, it irritates me, I comment, then I end up deleting. One of the main reasons I despise Instagram — it’s mostly the fakest show on Earth.
The way I see it, my comment or email would do more harm than good. Sure, I would have said my peace, but at the expense of who? It’s a weird line, a hard line. Reminds me of a quote I love by by Dale Carnegie.
“Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn — and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” — Dale Carnegie
Usually after I delete the comments, I take a hard look at ‘why’ I wanted to type something that would be offensive or critical. I don’t have exact statistics on it but most of the time, it’s because of something in ‘me’. My lens of the person or situation is foggy. And, to be honest, there is no way that I am practicing this verse:
‘Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.’ 1 Corinthians 13:7 TPT
I say this in my head ALL the time, “believe the best about every person, believe the best about ever person, believe the best about every person.” I find when I do this, it’s much easier to — guess what … well, you get it.
Believing the best about people requires you to trust. You have to f’n trust them and if your trust has been shattered in the past, it’s pretty tough to believe people. You can get cynical VERY quickly and I’ve never been one to want to be that type of person.
Last night was bitter sweet. I cried in front of Roscoe (Roscoe is my oldest, he’s 10). As the day was winding down, dinner was finished, it seemed everything busted at the seams.
When I asked Roscoe to do some chores in the house, he kept walking away from me while I was talking. Most of the time it would be no big deal, we would have a chat and it would be fixed up. However, because Chantelle (my wife) has been laid up in bed with pneumonia for almost a week, I didn’t have the patience required. I was FRUSTRATED AS F.
I got on Roscoe a bit, he started crying while I showed him what and how the cleaning should be done. Looking back, he just wanted to hang out. The day was almost over, he just wanted to kick it with his dad. I missed it.
Later on, I walked into his room and apologized. I was crying because I blew it. I told him it was ‘my bad’ and It’s been hard for me to juggle all the cooking, cleaning and everything in the house, plus do all my work during a very busy season. I felt horrible.
He’s such a good dude. He said, “dad, I know it’s been really hard for you. It’s ok. You’re doing a really good job.” He gave me the biggest hug and shared with me his beautiful little heart. I cried a little bit more and then we laughed together about a desk I was trying to put together and just couldn’t (another moment of frustration for my day).
If you want to make peace, you have to be humble. Humility is an action. It’s something you choose. I don’t know what you’re facing but choosing to be a peacemaker is one of the most noble things you can do.
I’ve got to go again as the kids have nearly destroyed the house again. However, breakfast was a big hit, bananas n cream oatmeal. It seems peace is trending higher in our home. Thank God for that. May you rock it today as well.
Let’s pray:
Jesus, I need peace today in everything I do. Help me to slow down, embrace more empathy, believe the best about every person. I know it will make me better. I know you can help me become all that I’m called to be. Thanks for being with me. Amen.
