Gentle

Not Mount Eagle, Lake Powell, use to be home!

I'm preparing to go to Mount Eagle this weekend for Spiritual Direction class and I sure wish it was closer! I'm sure I will enjoy driving through the country watching the leaves changing and checking out the produce stands along the way, but does it have to take 4 hours to get there? Who knows what the weather will be like, cuz it's getting up to 83 here today! So I will have to pack all kinds of clothes...or I could just take sweats! That's what I'll do! That problem, solved!


I heard something the other day and I wanted to chat about it for a while, mainly cuz I think it's something we all need to remember and practice!

Be gentle with yourself!

How often does that happen? Really! We are harder on ourselves than anyone else and it's sad to think about, but we need to think about it, so maybe we will change what we are doing. So here are some thoughts.

1. Don't compare your progress with others. You are where you need to be at the moment you are there or you would be somewhere else! When we compare, we despair. Don't remember where I heard that but it is right on the money! God has a call on your life and it can't be compared to anyone else's!

2. Resist the temptation to indulge in endless postmortems! How many times do you rehash the bad stuff? Stop it! When you have regrets they are distractions to what you should be doing in the first place. Release mistakes and put them where they belong, in the past!

3. Remember, you know what you know when you know it! It does no good to cram, lessons must be learned and it takes as long as it takes. Someone said, Ignorance of the road ahead is no sin, failing to act on what you have learned is. You need to embrace experiences that you've had and let them shape you.

4. Receive what you are given with gratitude and joy, even when it's hard! Some news is harder to take than others, but maybe what the doctor ordered. You need to be available to journey into the wonder of what tomorrow holds.

5. Rest where you are, stop fighting so much! You cannot force or engineer intimacy with God. All you do is rest into it. That's probably the hardest of all to be gentle with yourself about. I know it is for me. I like to think that if I try really hard, get everything lined up, in the right place, volume set just right, candles burning, God will show up. The cool part is when He does show up when I don't look for Him. It's like...Surprise!!!

So those are my thoughts for today on being gentle with yourself. 

FYI, If you need someone to be hard on you, let ME know!

Peace out!