There could not be a more overused and undervalued catchphrase in the English language!
Ok… thinking about it yea it could be, but still I digress… But today, I had not so much an epiphany, as I did a word of distinction from God. Over the last 6 months or so I’ve been doing, what I call, an involuntary audit of so called “friends” in my life. Now I do have a set of rules, which to most, seem a bit harsh and outlandish, but to me seem quite suitable for to my standards and lifestyle. For example, IF you are a saved contact in my phone, but we speak maybe 1-2 times a year (at most), you never text or even email me, then you really are not “contact” worthy. You are a familiar (because I know you) random caller who calls occasionally and probably plays NO role in my life, immediate or distant, therefore you get deleted. Seems simple enough right? Let’s move on…
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| Wins vs Losses |
So there have been a few people, whom I’ve deleted all contacts with because they abruptly stopped or no longer answer my calls, emails, texts or even fb posts when I have tried to reach out to them. Even though they LIVE on social networks are are CLEARLY getting my messages, but choosing not to respond, for whatever reason. In most cases many of those same people who I delete end up calling or emailing me and attempt to apologize for their behavior and reconcile a possible relationship. Sometimes, it works… sometimes it doesn’t. More recently, a good but flaky former friend of mine sent me a fb message apologizing and “explaining” their reason for being so dismissive and blatantly non responsive. At first glance, I wanted to immediately hit the DELETE button and keep it moving… but I was #1 intrigued, and #2 knew that they deserved to be heard, at the very least. So I read it… Indeed their expression was very humble and they in fact explained their reason for this (which for the record, CLEARLY made no sense at all), again I digress… At the end of reading the letter, for the second time, I asked God to give me the words to say because I didn’t want to revisit old feelings and act out of emotion; neither did I want to give them the treatment that they gave me, because what would they learn in that? So I responded with kindness, forgave and thanked them and at the end gave them what they thought their rejection took from me… LOVE. Afterwards I asked God, “Why was I given unwarranted rejection by yet another person whom I regarded as close to me?” I hadn’t felt that kind of feeling since my Ex lover. Then God showed me, that this is rejection from MAN, not GOD; and sometimes, like it did in 2010, man’s rejection will push you closer or allow you to be vulnerable enough to be drawn in by God’s love, hence, losing something to gain something greater! So it made sense why I wasn’t spiteful, or hadn’t even cared to serve him up a dose of my usual sarcasm. The story in the book of John came to mind when Jesus asks Peter after he had denied him, “… DO YOU LOVE ME?” Clearly, Peter already felt like dog ish as it was, so it was no need for Jesus to give him the 3rd degree or rub it in… Even more, God showed me by my willingness to easily forgive, not require or expect a VALID reason from other people regarding their behavior towards me and my ability to discern the true (spiritual) reason for things, really revealed my maturity in HIM. So I suppose I can accept the rejection of the counterfeit, if that will get me closer to the love of the AUTHENTIC. And with that being said, I would rather lose, and to some degree may have lost everything, but if gaining him is knowing what I now KNOW, then truthfully, I haven’t’ loss at all! #StillWinning #getfreetoday
