Sticks and Stones ...

We have all heard it "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me"... well I am here to tell you that is a HUGE lie... but here is how I will re-write that "sticks and stones may break my bones, words will hurt me and the WORD will heal me"...

You see, I am no stranger to people saying things that aren't true. I am no stranger to believing what other people say about someone and realizing it wasn't true. I am no stranger to being wrong. I am no stranger to saying something when I should have just kept my mouth shut.

I often joke about the fact that I have gotten comfortable with my foot in my mouth and I don't think there is anything wrong with taking the "learn as you go" approach to life. You see, just because we make the choice to fall madly in love with the one and only perfect Son of God, the one and only who created the heavens and the earth, doesn't mean we ourselves have to be perfect.

I am getting comfortable with the idea of not being "perfect" at things, I am getting comfortable saying what I really feel, even if that means I might have to go back and apologize later. You see, when things get rough and people say mean things or do things that really, REALLY hurt, I turn to the book of Habakkuk and it is there that I find comfort.

I am not the only one who has ever said to the Lord "Why do you make me look at injustice? Why you do tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and conflict abounds."

And then, I turn to Psalm 119 - which I ADORE!

Right now... verse 85-88 hit home for me. "The arrogant dig pitfalls for me, contrary to your law. All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for men persecute me without cause. They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. Preserve my life according to your love, and I will obey the statues of your mouth."

At the end of the day, mean people suck and I don’t think I am the only one who has ever wanted to just say so. These are people that will say what they want to say. They will do what they want to do. They will continue on their way, and there is NOTHING I can do about what they do or say. We cannot do anything about what other people say, all I know, is what HE says...

Mark 13:13 says it so well "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

Within my desire to figure out what happens when you have nothing to say AND lots to talk about, I am left searching within the WORD, after all, that is where the TRUTH is.

Within my desire to leave the people behind that have nothing nice to say and frankly I am getting really tired of, I am left within the pages of the WORD, after all, I am not the only person who has ever had an experience or two with a few people that make our skin crawl.

And finally, as I come to understand that sticks and stone may break my bones and words will actually hurt me, I am left to cling to the very fact that the ONE & ONLY Son of God, experienced the very pain that breaks my heart and makes me more mad than anything I have ever experienced.

So I am not afraid of the mean people that suck. I am not going to invite fear and anxiety into my home and I am not going to loose any more sleep over them. Rather, as a dear friend of mine once said, "take these trials and consider them to be an honor, because Jesus himself wasn't the most popular person either..."

So dear one, if you have people in your life, that fit into the "mean people suck" category, take it to Jesus and tell HIM all about THEM! Talk about THEM until you cannot say anything more. Cry over it with HIM until you have no tears left, but leave it with HIM. He is BIG enough to deal with it and you can trust HIM enough to have the very best in store for you.