Sandpaper People...

It's after midnight and I'm having trouble sleeping.  I thought it was to do with the plates rubbing together causing an earthquake in my hometown but it's not.  It's another form of rubbing...like people rubbing me the wrong way....sandpaper people.

So here I am again, going through the motions of dealing with certain people in my life that tend to drive me nuts and in my weakest moment I let it all get to me.  So much so, that I tend to talk to my husband a lot about it.  That is usually a sign for me to deal with it, if I tend to talk about it a little more than I should.

I read this book years ago that helped me deal with people that rubbed me the wrong way and it was such a great resource.  So much that I gave it to a friend to read and.....haven't seen it since lol.  I'm sure it's helping someone as much as it has for me.

So this blog is to share with you another post I just read which will help me sleep tonight :)  I love that it talks about my very love language - serving and how I can use that to deal with those sandpaper people in my life right now :).  God is sooo good :)

Have a read. ....Good night Sandpaper people :P..kidding....goodnight xx

Serving Sandpaper People

July 21st, 2011 No Comments

Mary Southerland

Mary's Website

Today’s Truth
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10, NIV).

Friend To Friend
We live in a problem-filled world. However, you will be thrilled to know I have discovered the biggest problem of all – people. In my opinion, if there were fewer people, there would be fewer problems. Every day, we face the daunting challenge of getting along with people. Some make it easy, and some don’t. Some are kind and encouraging, and replenishing, while others drive us to the brink of insanity and beyond.

One Sunday morning, a Sunday school teacher, in the process of teaching the Ten Commandments to her third-grade class, asked the question, “Last week we learned the commandment to honor your father and mother. Can anyone tell me if there is one that refers to brothers and sisters?” A little girl’s hand immediately shot up. When the teacher called on her to give an answer, the anxious youngster quickly responded, “Yes, there is a commandment just about brothers. The one that says, ‘Thou shalt not kill!’”

Let’s be honest – some people are simply more difficult to get along with than others. They “rub” us the wrong way. I call them “sandpaper people.” We try to change them, run from them, ignore them, and even take a stab at fixing them. But what would happen if we made the choice to serve them?

I know. The last thing I usually want to do is serve someone who is hard to get along with. In fact, shouldn’t these “sandpaper people” be serving me in order to make up for all of the grief they have caused? Sounds right, doesn’t it? God has a different plan – a higher plan that produces supernatural results. It is called service.

In his letter to the church in Rome the Apostle Paul defined true service when he said that we are to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love” and “honor one another” (Romans 12:10, NIV). In this verse, “devotion” indicates commitment and duty and carries the idea of a constant faithfulness that deliberately chooses repeatedly to serve. To “honor” someone means to “prefer” him or her or regard them as more important than ourselves. Honestly, most sandpaper people are used to people preferring that they disappear.

Sandpaper people are hard to serve and hard to help because they rarely, if ever, think of themselves as someone in need. The needs of others are not high on their priority list but control and power are. To manipulate is to succeed. Sandpaper people honestly believe that the world does or should revolve around them. It doesn’t seem to matter if the audience is applauding or jeering. Either way, they win. Why would God ask us to serve the very people who drive us crazy – the people who are so hard to love and seem to constantly wreak emotional havoc in our lives?

Choosing to serve a difficult person demands that we lay down our pride and our rights and deliberately choose to identify and meet a need in that person’s life. We then become a conduit through which His love can flow to reach and transform that hard-to-love person. When we dare to serve a sandpaper person, it rocks their world. They are accustomed to scratching and clawing their way to a false and shallow acceptance. Sandpaper people find it almost impossible to believe that anyone would ever be willing to serve them in any way. That kind of chosen love is foreign to them but it certainly grabs their attention. I wonder what our world would look like if we made the choice to love and serve the sandpaper people in our lives.

Let’s Pray
Father, when I let pride take up residence in my heart, I can be so blind to the needs of others, especially those who are more difficult to love. I am so thankful that You did not feel that way toward me, one of the most difficult people of all to love. I praise You for the grace and love You have given me. Help me to be an instrument of that love and grace in the lives of those around me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

3 months on...

It's been 3 months since my last post.  Ironically the heading of my last post is "Falling on Deaf Ears".  Wish right now I could say that things have changed.

I'm sitting at my dining table, feeling the chill creep up my legs and my eyes are burning and yet I still don't register the signs of a body that needs rest.  Not only that, I am sitting with a huge infection on my chin.  Which started out as a mere harmless pimple  (Are pimples really harmless?), has now grown into a huge infection that is making me look like that clown mask in SAW!!!....grrrrr!!! I feel like I've just been at the dentist.  I talk as if I have a lisp.

I know, I know......even I would be really put off by someone I love whom I tell time and time again to take a break and give their body a rest.  But I still don't get it.  Well looking back over the last 3 months, I have thrown myself into my work with youth.  My heart is always to give God my best and I know that I am running on an empty tank.  I feel though that if I set systems in place to a Kingdom standard then I can pass things onto others.  I don't feel that it's an issue of trust that I have with others but rather it's wanting to give my best and knowing the potential that our church, our youth has I can provide that right now.

But I sit at home on what was to be my first day of working full-time again and what looks to be another few days at home because of this hideous chin.  I am doubling up on antibiotics which I know is actually doing worse to my system but yes I know that I do need to rest.

Last night was our 4th Encounter which is an english service that the youth leads.  It has been a blessing with these encounters as our youth has grown to 30 as well as 16 souls saved and many souls recommitted.  I have dedicated a lot of time.  Well both my husband and I ...and yes I think my children also have dedicated a lot of time to working with our youth.  At times I do feel tired but am always thinking...I will rest tomorrow.  And yet tomorrow comes and it's another busy day.  But the response from last night's Encounter makes it all worth it.

The message last night was based on 2 Timothy 1: 6.  Fanning into the flame the gift that God has given me.  I do believe that I am fulfilling God's purpose in my life.  But at what cost.  My Health for sure!!!!!  I caught up with a good friend who looks absolutely great and she told me about how my blog has interested her and that she would check in from time to time.  This blog has not been far from my mind as there are so many things that fills this space between my eyes :).

The message last night cemented God's purpose in my life.  I love my life and where I am at with my family, my friends, my church, my youth, my workplace and basically everything.  What will it take for me to take care of myself.  I have so many loving friends and family who remind me time and time again that I need to take care of myself.  I feel loved when they share their concern for me.  But as quickly and as easy as their words enter through my ears they quickly exit stage left.  As if I push those words to the side to make room for the next event, the next day, the next activity to be organised.

I went for an hour walk with my sister blister last week.  It was good to be pounding the foot path again.  It had been a long time since my running shoes saw the soles of my feet and the face of the pavement.  It was good to be able to just set aside everything and clear my mind.  And once I got back into the car to return home it was straight into fulfilling a productive day. *sigh*.

Last night's encouragement was about igniting the passion within.  I have no problem there.  I have the passion to continue to do what I do.  My problem is learning to control my passion to allow for the rest of ME to catch up so that I can continue to serve.

Control & Passion.  Sounds like contrasting words.  And yet saying it over and over in my head only reminds me of what my husband has said to me "Do what I can within my capacity".

I am blessed with such a loving husband and surrounded by my loving family.  I am forever grateful.

And with this said...I will take the next couple of days to just relax.......and take my meds :) xxx