My friend
Julz called me one day and invited me to go out for a dinner together with two
other friends Mercy and Letecia.
At first, I was reluctant to go because I don’t
want to leave my husband alone one
Sunday evening. But my husband was so nice. He said that it was not a problem,
because I won’t be gone for the whole night. So he let me enjoyed the evening
with my girlfriends. How can I not be thankful for having such a kind husband?
Being with
friends was precious. We did savored the moment being together. Talked, shared
secrets and burdens with one another. Laughed of funny stories. Took pictures
of ourselves that the people around us thought that we were crazy. But the most important was eating a delicious
dinner with people you like as you can see in the pictures.
Mercy and me
Julz and Letecia
Our dinner
This
morning in my devotion, this word came
into my mind: Sensitive
Am I a
sensitive woman? How was I together with my friends? Have I been sensitive to their
needs? To their ups and downs? Families?
I believe I
am that kind of person. Very sensitive to what others say to me. To the point
that I get hurt of words that were spoken
to me that were not meant to hurt me. I am also tender for words that should be
spoken to me but left unsaid. Sensitive to my loved ones or friends. It is like
that I feel their fears, their heartaches, their joys and sorrows. God is
always reminding me that their lives are not in my hands. I must not be over
sensitive for everything or everyone or else
I will have a heart that is full of heartaches.
Yes, I am a
sensitive person, but the problem is I am talkative too. I
talk so much that sometimes I forget to let others do the talking. Instead, I talked for them. Not
that I don’t respect them or interested in them. I just do that to entertain them. Maybe because I am a jolly fellow. However, it made me ponder that although I am sensitive
to what others say to me, I am not sensitive enough to let others do the
talking sometimes. Not too sensitive enough to listen to what others have to
say. God is always reminding me that life in not only about my story, but everybody’s
story. Everyone has their own important experience to tell. They too need to be
heard, can entertain and be an inspiration. That is what I love with God. His
whispering voice that guides me/us in our everyday life.
But what
God says about being sensitive or talkative?
Ephesians
4: 29-32
29. Do not let
unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building
others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
What do you
mean God with unwholesome talk? Words without meaning? It seems that God is
reminding me/us that if we say something, it should be words of encouragement
or words to build others up. Words of wisdom that those who listen to us will acquire
knowledge.
Well, I am
sure that if I will always remember those words from God, I will be cured for
being talkative. Not that being talkative is a negative behavior. God made me
this way. It just means that I will be more careful for what I say. Be sensitive to those who listen to me.
30. And do
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Well, it is
the last thing we want to do. Isn’t it? Grieve the Holy Spirit. Really? This words reminds us to be not just be sensitive
to other people, but most especially towards
the Holy Spirit, which is God. We have
just to admit that we are all guilty of
grieving the Holy Spirit many times.
How can I
say that?
God said:
31. Get rid
of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form
of malice.
How many times we have been bitter
for what others had done to us or did not do?
And when we are angry, we brawl and scowl and so on. We must admit that most
of the time we regret what we had said in those moments. Not only that, we seems to forget that we
should not slander when we are with friends. We talked about him or her without
having second thoughts. We laughed about someone’s wrong grammar or wrong behavior
in our eyes. Guilty, guilty, guilty. Forgetting that we have our own flaws. It
is just that talking about other people flaws temps us.
Like these strawberries.
From my sister's strawberry farm.
We want to taste its sweetness.
Like this flowers.
We want to smell its fragrance.
How tempting it might be, we can
really survive without eating strawberries and without smelling the fragrance
of the flowers. But somehow we thought that we couldn’t. It is like talking
about other people. We thought that we couldn’t survive without doing it. I am
not saying that we should stop talking about other people, but it should be
words that inspires, that cares and something to learn about. Be sensitive with
our words! That is how God meant it to be.
32. Be
compassionate to one another , forgiving each other, just as Christ forgive
you.
This is the
most important. Being compassionate means forgiving. To forgive is to love.
My friends
and I talked about forgiveness. Some of us have problems forgiving at once,
while others have no problem with that. But we all agree that it is best to
forgive. That forgiving builds relationship. Be sensitive to what others feel
too not only what we feels. Well, I am lucky to have friends like these ladies.
It was a memorable evening and we agreed
to meet again.
This flower bouquet is like us. We are all different from each other, but together in harmony, we are beautiful. Don't you agree?
JOY
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