I had trouble deciding where to put this. It's almost a testimony but my story here isn't a completed triumph I can use to encourage, but rather a useful thought to ponder as we relate to each other as Christians. So I figured the term "family" can be applied here in a broader sense as my point pertains to developing others-centred sensitivity in relationships, as well as guarding ones own heart.
Those of you that know me more than a little have probably managed to surmise (or I have told you directly myself) that I am complicated to relate to. Of course, people in general are complicated to relate to. Mess that we are. Still, I find particular challenges in my life an outstanding source of difficulty in facing interpersonal relationships.
I have trouble expressing to people I'm close to sometimes that a new thought I'm having or a concept I am inwardly challenging, is something I need to talk through, but that the way it is received might make or break it. I recently managed to provide an analogy to illustrate my dilemma, and the results of understanding from those around me has been a huge relief to my general frustration.
I told a friend that sometimes I feel like I'm a pot of dirt, and that, very, very, slowly, (and not without very painful life experiences to achieve it), a delicate process has ocurred, causing a tiny sprout to come up out of the dirt, waving a baby soft green leaf. Different plants need different conditions to thrive, and the one assigned to me, is very particular and fragile.
I told my friend, "When I show my sprout to people, the first thing they do is pull it up by the roots and toss it to the side, as though they didn't even notice it except that it was in the way. Then they dig about and play in my dirt and say "Look at this soil! I'm sure we can do something with this!"
I haven't needed more than this picture for people to understand what I am asking for, and realising it myself has raised my awareness of what to share and when and with whom. Not that I've mastered it yet by any means.
I hope someone reading this can use this thought well too.
Those of you that know me more than a little have probably managed to surmise (or I have told you directly myself) that I am complicated to relate to. Of course, people in general are complicated to relate to. Mess that we are. Still, I find particular challenges in my life an outstanding source of difficulty in facing interpersonal relationships.
I have trouble expressing to people I'm close to sometimes that a new thought I'm having or a concept I am inwardly challenging, is something I need to talk through, but that the way it is received might make or break it. I recently managed to provide an analogy to illustrate my dilemma, and the results of understanding from those around me has been a huge relief to my general frustration.
I told a friend that sometimes I feel like I'm a pot of dirt, and that, very, very, slowly, (and not without very painful life experiences to achieve it), a delicate process has ocurred, causing a tiny sprout to come up out of the dirt, waving a baby soft green leaf. Different plants need different conditions to thrive, and the one assigned to me, is very particular and fragile.
I told my friend, "When I show my sprout to people, the first thing they do is pull it up by the roots and toss it to the side, as though they didn't even notice it except that it was in the way. Then they dig about and play in my dirt and say "Look at this soil! I'm sure we can do something with this!"
I haven't needed more than this picture for people to understand what I am asking for, and realising it myself has raised my awareness of what to share and when and with whom. Not that I've mastered it yet by any means.
I hope someone reading this can use this thought well too.