We all have examples, from people we know, care about and even those we don't. We are always observing someone or some situation and even when we don't think it will make an impression in our lives, we file it in the back of our mind to learn from it eventually.
I was thinking about this in church on Sunday. There are so many people there that get involved and make a good example, that I wanted to get involved. Them my mind kept going of all the other example-makers in my life, both positive and negative.
Well, the negative one came to the fore-front first of course. She is "Sue" that I have whined about and didn't know how to get her out of my mind. She is a bad example of how a friend can take a couple words said, get mad about them, not even want to look or talk to you about them and then be mean and catty at school. Example of a bad friend. Duh!
Then, I thought of my mom. She has for the most part, always been a good example. When she was in beauty shcool, she was a mom of 2 kids, a wife, had a dog, a wood grained station wagon and went to church. They called her "Apple Pie Mary Lou". I use to laugh and call her "Sister" Mary Lou because I thought she was so perfect, she could have become a nun. But, in the grand scheme of things, she was a good example. Now that I am goign thru beauty school, I see that she is good at what she does and I thought I knew it all. Silly me.
Then, I tought of my Uncle Greg. He was in town from Seattle and I was having a major dilemma when I saw him. He tried to talk to me and give me good, loving advise. He is a smart and wise man and I wasn;t listening the way I should have. Tehn he said something right before he left. He said, "I don't get it. Whay are you letting unimportant people upset you?" Wow! What a wake up call.
So I could go on and on about examples in my life. My husband and how he is a great dad to our 2 boys, our sons who are befriending a boy who is having trouble with his mother, and many more that I could cite here.
Any ideas of who your example are and how they have impacted your lives?
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Comments: 6
You're right Kathleen. Everyone that comes in to your life is there for a purpose.....good and bad. You take a little from each one of them and discard the rest. How we interact with one another especially with those who may be different from us, tells us something about ourselves.
Very touching story you shared with us.
This is extremely moving... my first thought is my brother, Rick. He was a living example of the belief that you should focus on things you enjoy more than making a lot money and buying trendy stuff, constantly having to replace outdated items.
Isn't that peculiar the way that we start to think about things like that as we sit in church? I don't go to church as often as I should, but I always come away with things like that. Everything happens for a reason and we learn something new even about ourselves every day. We have to be thankful for the good and the bad, huh?
This is interesting food for thought . . . it reminds me that being positive, patient and tolerant are good qualities to cultivate, especially when you are feeling irritated, overwhelmed and frustrated. Thanks for sharing Kathleen . . . I try to focus on the good rather than the bad and these examples are useful. Enjoy your weekend :)
Yes, this story is very touching. Thanks for sharing with us.