Full Circle Thought

FORGIVENESS.  Not a very simple concept.  There are many questions for me.  How?  When?  Under what circumstances?  I'm all about forgiving someone if I think they are truly sorry for what they have done.  If they can actually look at a situation and admit they had/have some flaw.  But what happens when you know that person isn't sorry at all and thinks they have no fault whatsoever? And on another level, the problem gets swept under the rug with all parties involved knowing full well it's going to rear it's ugly head again at any given time.  You can see it coming but short of completely sacrificing who you are as a person, there's nothing you can do about it.

SACRIFICE.  Also not very simple concept.  How far do you go?  You can't change your personality.  You can't and SHOULDN'T change WHO. YOU. ARE.  Have respect?  Yes.  Become someone else?  No way.  And no one that loves you and respects YOU should expect you to either.

RESPECT.  There's another one.  This is one that has to be earned.  I have my bad days, but I try very hard to be a good person.  I'd give the shirt off my back to someone in need, and that's not just a metaphor.  I have actually given the shirt off my back to a very close friend in his time of need.  Even though I wasn't able to do much more, I did something.  On the other hand, I'm not perfect.  No one is perfect.  We were made in His image but not without sin.  We all screw up, but that should not be condemning.  What matters is that we confess our sins, not just to God but to those we have wronged, and ask for FORGIVENESS.

Potholes

Potholes 

As I was driving down my pothole filled gravel road this evening, headed home from the gym, not even hearing what was blaring on the radio because I was too lost in my own worries, I had a small epiphany.  Something I wish I would have realized a long time ago.  You see, lately I've been worried about what other people are doing.  What other people think about me and what I'm doing.   I've realized I haven't been concentrating on the road ahead of me.  I lost sight of what's important.  Who is important.  My whole world seemed like it fell apart recently when I hit a massive "pothole" in my "road" which happened to cost me thousands of dollars in damage to my psyche.  For a minute, I thought it was a total loss.  Both front tires were blown, tie rods busted...the whole sha-bang.  Shit, it was so bad I think the struts might have gone through the hood.  I really didn't know how I was going to repair the damage.  Slowly but surely...here and there, with the help of those close around me, I was able to focus just a bit and get a good look at the carnage.  It was only then that I realized that "carnage" wasn't really the bloody, twisted metal scene I thought it was.  Hell, I needed new tires anyway.  Those old ones were cheap and bald.  And the new tie rods didn't turn out to be so expensive either.  Those struts?  Yeah, they were fine after all.  So wherever it is that you're driving, just make sure you pay attention to the road ahead of you.  Sure, you still need to keep your defense up in case someone swerves into your lane or slams on their brakes in front of you.  But you...YOU are in control of your own vehicle.  Only you can apply the brakes when you're going too fast, hit the gas to avoid a near miss, or swerve to miss that pothole.  Just make sure you don't stare at the rear view mirror too long.  Just long enough to see the potholes you're leaving behind. ;)