Friendship
If you have been following the trend of my positive thoughts for the week, they are always birthed from some personal life revelation that I have come too. This is no different. I have spent a lot of time in the past 6 months or so thinking about some of the folks I have called my friends over the years. I have been thinking about the way they treat me and how I treat and interact with them. I have to admit there have been times over the years where in an effort to make some folks feel less insecure I have dimmed my light in their presence. With certain folks, it felt like every time I had a praise report or revelation for a vision, I would watch their entire countenance change. I have watched them get bitter when some one complimented or celebrated me. I have endured them trying to indirectly blame me for the areas in their life where they have failed to live up to their God given potential. I have heard them minimize my successes. These are the same people that I have rejoiced with and cheered them on through every victory in their life big or small. I have been silent through a lot of this because I didn’t want to make them feel more insecure, because I was being loyal to memories of our good times and I because I did not want to be accused of being vain.

The truth of the matter is I have done them, myself and who God has made a great disservice. The attention I have often gotten for things that I have done I have not sought. I recognize it is the gifting that God has given me. It is His light in me shinning outward.

• I’m kind because I feel it is the right thing to do. Not because I’m trying to gain public approval.
• I’m funny because God gave me a sense of humor, not because I desire to be the center of attention.
• I’m giving because so much has been given to me and I’m grateful, not because I am trying to buy loyalty.
• I am who I am because of who God has made me and true friendships should celebrate that.

In hindsight, how many ideas have been aborted because my focus was on the wrong thing? How many people have I not helped because I worried over the feelings of one when what I could have done could have helped hundreds including that one? I have come to this resolution. I can no longer be more loyal to my friends than I am to my God given purpose. That sometimes I have to accept that certain friends are for the past and it’s ok. I finally get that when the fundamental principals of what it takes to maintain a friendship diverges between two people nostalgia can not sustain the relationship. I will no longer pretend to be less than who I am and who God has made me just to placate folks who are in essence vision blockers. If you fall into this category and you are going to continue to call yourself my friend, you are either going to grow up or we will just grow apart.

Make It A Blessed,

YMA

Faith and Faithful

It’s funny you would think if you had demonstrate faith you must automatically be faithful. The other day I was traveling to the bank to make a deposit and I was thinking about how good God is. He has been helping me and my family through a challenging financial situation. What had prompted this train of thinking was that I was a little annoyed because I had agreed to do something for my mother and she automatically started voicing all the negative things that could happen and I felt like screaming “after all that God has done for us how can you still keep spouting out such negative things”.

As I sat in the parking lot of the bank feeling quite impressed that I was such a woman of faith, I got hit up side the head with this revelation. Although I had demonstrated I was a woman of faith, I had not always been very faithful. What does that mean I asked the Lord? Then the revelation came. I may be good at standing back believing and trusting that no matter what the circumstance is God will come through for me. But I have not been so good at being faithful to the one who has delivered me time and time again. Oh, I would say thank you, but to be honest some times I have done it because I was raised to have manors. I’m embarrassed to admit there were a number of times when I would say it but there was no real feeling behind it. My attitude on a very subconscious level has been like a very spoiled child. After all God should do it for me, come on it’s me.

But since confession is good for soul let me say this:

• I have not been faithful to praise Him every day the way He deserves to be praised.
  I have not been faithful in letting the world know that if it had not been for God on my side where would I be?
  I have not always appreciated what He has done for me especially when He gave me something I really needed instead of something I really wanted.
• I have not always been faithful in giving Him the credit for my victories.
  

So what is the life lesson I take away from this. It is great and important to be a person of faith but an even greater measure of who you are as person should be how faithful you are to the one who time after time proves to you your faith in Him has not been wasted.

Make it a blessed,

YMA