Her words made me so <\/span>angry <\/span><\/i>I couldn\u2019t see straight. (For the sake of this article, let\u2019s call this person Leigh Ann.) I wanted to return Leigh Ann\u2019s unkind words and make her <\/span>hurt<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0It seemed like every time I saw her, she would make harsh comments about my weight or appearance, lack of abilities in the kitchen, or accuse me of doing something I didn\u2019t do. <\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d like to think that I\u2019m mature enough to let stuff like immature taunts roll off my back, but I\u2019m not. The woman in question attended the same church as I did. <\/span><\/p>\n One afternoon after services, Annie left, and I promptly started crying. \u201cWhy is she so mean?\u201d I asked my Auntie. \u201cWhat did I ever do to her?\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My Auntie got me a cup of coffee and we sat down in the fellowship hall and she asked me: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDid you know Leigh Ann didn\u2019t have an opportunity to finish schooling because she had a baby? Did you know she was raised by folks who treated her poorly?\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I <\/span>didn\u2019t<\/span><\/i> know. Auntie went on to explain that Leigh Ann\u2019s had to be tough and all her life as a way to cope. One of her six children died in a car accident, and she often had to look after any number of her dozen grandchildren. <\/span><\/p>\n Then, Auntie said, <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNow imagine what she sees when she looks at you. You\u2019ve completed college and chose a career. She never had the same <\/span>choices<\/span><\/i> as you. \u00a0She\u2019s taken care of others her whole life \u2013 parents, siblings, husband, children, and grandchildren. \u00a0She\u2019s worked every single day cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry to keep folks around her clothed, clean, and fed \u2013 usually without being thanked!\u201d <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n My Auntie was right, of course. \u00a0Leigh Ann was rough around the edges, but she was deeply devoted to her family and a hard worker. She didn\u2019t have an opportunity to learn \u201csoft skills.\u201d What about her comments about my weight? Leigh Ann knew I was recovering from a long illness and, perhaps, it was her backhanded way of showing concern. <\/span><\/p>\n Finally Auntie told me, <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGive Leigh Ann some grace. She\u2019s still new to <\/span>really <\/span><\/i>knowing Christ.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n When we are saved, a beautiful journey begins. The Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out, but you can\u2019t realistically expect the Fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) to manifest immediately. I needed to show Leigh Ann kindness and gentleness; since she started attending church, maybe this was the first time in her life folks were actually kind to her. <\/span><\/p>\n I walked away from the table feeling better and knowing that I needed to do:<\/span><\/p>\n My encounters with Leigh Ann continue to be rough, but I believe with time she will come around. I am also grateful for the growth I\u2019ve seen in my own life and the wisdom my Auntie shared with me.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Lesson in Compassion Her words made me so angry I couldn\u2019t see straight. (For the sake of this article, let\u2019s call this person Leigh Ann.) I wanted to return Leigh Ann\u2019s unkind words and make her hurt. \u00a0It seemed like every time I saw her, she would make harsh comments about my weight or … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25747,"featured_media":11935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[7030,7029,7027,7028],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25747"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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