Comments

Old Journal Entry:

She didn’t think what I was feeding or letting my son drink was good. She thought that he had too much energy, I brought too many toys for him to stay busy, he watched too much tv (she has no clue how much screen time he gets), and more. After leaving dinner the second night I got in the truck and just broke down crying. In all reality it does not matter what this woman, who saw a five second glimpse into our lives, thinks. It just hit a sore spot.

Another Old Journal Entry:

After the service was over and we were heading out, a lady stopped me and told me that I was a good mom and sitting on the floor playing with him is creating wonderful memories for my son. I often feel like a failure, and especially feeling like it yesterday during the funeral with all of the above events happening. God sure used that lady to encourage me. I held back tears as she spoke those words.

I tend to be harder on myself than others. I am always my worst critic, well most of the time.

Then there are times like mentioned in the first journal entry. This lady that we went out with to dinner two nights in a row didn’t stop with the comments; her opinions. This person had never even seen my child watch television, or seen his regular diet. These were all assumptions. She didn’t know my life or situation. She didn’t know that over the past week my child had spent more time in a vehicle than he should have.

Comments… they will come from the people we love the most or sometimes from a stranger. Words received affect us, and words that we give affect others.

Then there are times like the second journal entry mentioned. These two instances were at least a year apart, but they both impacted me in different ways. They both were words spoken by people who didn’t know me very well, but they left me feeling discouraged or encouraged. God will sometimes send someone at the times we are feeling the worst to just say something to keep us going a little longer.

Sometimes people make comments and it is so easy to listen to the all of the negative ones, and drown out the positive. Why is it easier to focus on all of the bad instead of the good when it comes to things about ourselves? Maybe this isn’t everyone’s struggle, but I would say that many have struggled with this, especially women.

We are harder on ourselves than we need to be.

There are times that God will speak to us and convict our hearts, maybe even through a leader in our lives. However this is different than leaving feeling guilty because of someone’s opinion.

Don’t ever ignore the conviction of the Spirit of God. Sometimes there are things that I believe we write off as guilt because social media tells us that is what it is. Social media often talks about “mom guilt”. I believe it is true that there are times we may feel guilty because we aren't measuring up to someone else's life style, as it appears on social media. While I also believe there are times that God convicts our hearts about an attitude or action, and we write it off as "guilt". Social media has a way of promoting content that is relatable and that will make us laugh. There are attributes that a woman, or man of God should and shouldn't have. If you pay attention, a lot of these humorous videos include complaining, putting down, yelling, and I could go on. The world isn't content with the roles that God has ordained for our families. I believe if something can get you to relate to it, then laugh, it will influence you. Influencing you can then change you from what God wants you to truly be. You may read this and think oh that wouldn’t be me, or maybe that sounds far fetched. I feel sometimes that we as adults think we are above being influenced by social media, and that is more for the teenagers. However, my husband has taught many times about what we consume, changing us. If we are consuming what is on social media, our television, or whatever it may be, it is influencing us. Try challenging yourself in prayer, is God convicting me or am I feel guilty because of another's expectations? Is what I'm consuming really promoting Godly attributes?

Give a soft answer back to the comments, don’t take it personally, turn the other way, and keep a spirit of humility. Keep the attitude and attributes of Jesus. We do not have to match what someone is telling us with a ugly attitude back. We don’t have to receive the words spoken, and we can give every comment to Him. We can also let the light of the Lord shine through us by speaking something uplifting. You can’t go wrong being an encourager.

Let this be a reminder to always give someone a kind word, not take the comments given to you personally, and focus on what the Lord says about you. Let's make today better than yesterday. Get into His Word and be encouraged and convicted. Conviction is different from guilt. Let him convict you and change you into a better person, but don’t let guilt to control your actions through the negative comments you may have received in this world.