This was a conversation I had awhile ago. I want it written down so I can remember it.
Deidre: We put our Christmas lights up this weekend.
Deni: Sean was putting our lights up and the neighbor who hates us came over and was hinting that she didn't have anyone to help her put up Christmas lights.
Deidre: That neighbor who yells at you and took you to the HOA for your weeds when you wouldn't pay her son to pull them?
Deni: Yeah.
Deidre: She wanted Sean to put up her Christmas lights after everything she's done to you guys? Seriously?
Deni: She said she couldn't do it because of her back and she didn't have anyone else.
Deidre: Did Sean tell her where she could stick the Christmas lights?
Deni: No, he's going to do it.
Deidre: WHAT?! He's going to do it? Why didn't he laugh in her face?
Deni: Because she's a mean old lady who has had a hard life and she needs some love.
I was really taken back when I heard that. Deni and Sean are two of the nicest, non-judgmental people you will ever meet. They go to church and believe in Christ, and do their best to really learn and grow. After I had this conversation with Deni, it kept coming back to me and I really thought about it. My first reaction was to return meanness with meanness, anger with anger. And that's not what Christ taught. I would like to be one of those people who leaves the world a better place, but I have my work cut out for me.
Good lesson.
ReplyDeleteDeidre, you already make the world a better place. Sometimes it's hard to be nice to mean people, but you are a wonderful, kind person. You are way nicer than you give yourself credit for. You don't have all that much work to ;)...I deleted that first comment because I'm not even sure I was speaking English, HAHA! It was so jumbled and crazy. It was bad enough that as lazy as I am I couldn't just roll with it and that says SO much about how bad it was.
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