By: Pastor Andrea Fruscella
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Perhaps by the oceanfront, you have seen a sign like this:
I am reminded of a beautiful, beach wedding that I attended wearing my lovely new, yellow high-heels. By the end of it, the color had worn completely off from the friction of the heel in the sandy beach. At times, people can be like sandpaper to us or the sand on the beach rubbing against a great pair of high-heels! By making assumptions, acting on hunches, or judging they build WALLS as opposed to BRIDGES. Sound familiar?
During my kids school break, I hurt my feet by being barefoot and wearing just flip-flops all week.
I am still in pain and it has been a slow recovery. Therefore, my daughter and I will use the electric carts in stores. The various reactions of people and their body language has been interesting to say the least. Some seem to "chuckle" as if I am simply faking it to let my child drive a scooter! Others actually scowl at me as if disgusted that I would do such a thing (judging because I am not old, not in a leg cast and possibly could be keeping the cart from some Senior Citizen whom really needs it). Nevertheless, most people are courteous and compassionate.
People skills 101: Give people the benefit of the doubt! If you are more of a pessimist or one to think negatively before positively, I encourage you today to do a "flip-flop" in your thinking! We don't have to believe every thought that pops in our heads about people!
And yes, our body language can speak VOLUMES to others based on just our thought life! So stop and think: What am I thinking about those around me and what am I saying through non-verbal communication? You see, we may want friendship but if we are unfriendly, keeping someone at arms length or non-responsive to their kindness then we are communicating something opposite of what we say we want (simply by body language). Among believers, give people the benefit of the FAITH! Believe the best unless proven otherwise (Matthew 7:1-4, Proverbs 18:17). We can deliberately set the atmosphere of our circles by just thinking good thoughts about those around us. Look for the GOOD and FIND it! "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8
Things may not always be as they seem to us! Stay tuned to my next blog on what to do if we feel God is warning us or showing us who to trust or not!