Respect

Several days ago my immediate family and I sat for nearly an hour and had a family talk. All of my family is now over fifty but in all of that time we never before sat and had a true open discussion about US! Do we know each other better? I think so.
During our talk several words were used more than once. Three of those words are key words you’ll find used in this blog. They are respect, argue, and hurt.
As I look back on my life’s journey I realize I have hurt others. More times than I would like to admit! And, many times I just brushed it off. My only after thought was; so be it, that’s a part of living.
In my later life I’ve tried to better myself. I try to avoid situations that could cause hurts for others. Actually, I have been learning to respect others! Slowly, I have learned that there is more to living than just me!
Argument has always come easy for me. Many times I have felt it to be almost a game! It took more than eighty years of living and one family discussion, for me to realize that all those arguments were nothing more than an endless ladder that lead step by step to nowhere! And, each step of that ladder had the ability to hurt both! My new goal? If I or someone else takes that first step, I’m going to try to avoid taking the second!
For many years I’ve tried to show more respect for myself. My Father in Heaven knew that I could use more help with that, so, where did He lead me? He led me to a prison ministry! My first thoughts were that I was going there to teach, little did I know that I was being sent there to LEARN! I could write a book on the many good things I’ve learned from those Tuesday morning trips!
My highlight was the morning that I overheard one of the inmates telling several that were new to our class “we don’t use street talk when Bob is in the room.” It wasn’t only a show of respect for me, it was their way of thanking me for what I was trying to do for them.
For years I’ve tried not to use words on the outside that I would not use in my house of worship. I know my Father in Heaven is always at my side and I view it a sign of respect for Him. I find that I tend to shy away from others who continually use those words around me, the reasoning is the same.
I try to be the best I can around others. I try to show respect for others. If others show no respect for themselves or me, that negative attitude pulls me down. My Friend told me that I have to learn to let go. Just because I’ve “let go” doesn’t mean I’ve quit. It means I’ve put things that bother me in the hands of others. It doesn’t mean I’ve stopped loving, many times it means I love them more! It means I need more help than I’m capable of giving. My Friend has given me the ability of hiding my hurts from others but I find it hard for me to hide my hurts from me!
That respect thing is not only the basic part of life and maybe it’s a big part of religion in its self. If we have no respect for ourselves, how can we show any respect for our world around us?
When we want to argue and we think we know it all, we must remember that there is only one with ALL knowledge and it sure isn’t you or me!
And how about all those hurts? There are times that we think only our hurts are the major ones. Think again, major hurts are those WE do to others!