I'm thinking about that whole "Love your neighbor as yourself" thing. The premise is the idea that most people will be sure to take care of their own needs, and need more help in putting the same or more effort into caring for and understanding others. The individual generally knows exactly what one's own needs, wants, and motivations entail. And that is where the trouble starts. I do not always like me or my needs, wants, or motivations. I really do not like the me who responds to my offspring by yelling, drops consequences on my kids that sometimes are more severe than warranted, or who jumps on the mister's case when what I really want to do is teach and train the kids while loving and supporting both them and their Daddy.
Know what? When I treat one or some of these nearest neighbors badly, I don't like me at all. This is not an all the time scenario. While occasional bad behavior or a less-than-stellar attitude does not define me, any more than the provocation defined the person to whom I responded, it can still bring on the unpleasantness and cause our household to squirm with feelings of discomfort and unrest.
Lately I have bounced from one craptacular moment to the next without time to stop and catch my breath much less regain the equilibrium traditionally defined as sanity. Today, I am forced by the physical responses to stress to do less. Stress = pain in this body. Which reminds me that this body is temporary. It is mine to use in loving others. Not in satisfying myself. It is also my responsibility to take care of it and of the soul, heart, and mind that govern it. Because in loving myself enough to take care of me, I am both honoring Christ and being equipped to love others. Not always an easy lesson to learn or to implement.
2 comments:
Why can't we park ourselves in bed when that is what is really needed? WHY?
thank you, a good reminder that all of us fall short of keeping the commands of the Law, hence our need for the Savior.
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