Don't ever let the magnitude or severity of an individual's needs prevent you from building a relationship with them. Our greatest need as broken people is to be loved. You are no one's savior, but you do have the tremendous power of engaging in genuine relationships with people that need you in their lives. You might even realize that you needed a few things from that person too.
Some day I'm not going to worry about how many books I give to my daughter compared to how many dolls I let her play with. I won't be conscientious about how often I tell her she's beautiful or carefully consider the things I praise her for. I won't discourage her from being a girly girl or a tom boy. I'll teach her that her identity is in Christ and I'll love the little girl he made her to be. All this self esteem saturation in our culture encourages young girls to dwell on how they perceive themselves which could ultimately become counterproductive.
I chew too much gum and I drink too much coffee. This week I got curios and texted several close friends asking them what their bad habits are. The responses varied from "I pop my gum" (gasp!) to "I gossip too much". The truth is we all have bad habits, but if you are like me, these sometimes get overlooked. When I began this conversation with a number of people, I was surprised by what revelations came from bringing these "small" issues to light. Why do we justify spending so much effort, time, and money on things that are not good for us? It seems easy to ignore the things in our lives that aren't necessarily the blaring shameful sins that others battle. However, developing the discipline it takes to eliminate the bad habits in our lives has the power to truly change our character. What are some things that have become part of your everyday life that may not be "bad" for you, but not a benefit to you or others? These repeated actions seep in to the essence of who we are at our core, when we are alone and with others. Identifying these behaviors and making small changes over time will produce a significant impact in your growth and development as a person.
Do you ever put your requests and needs aside when entering God's presence, simply to acknowledge and thank him for who he is? He changes our perception of what we need, and aligns his will with our requests. THIS is when he is able to satisfy our heart's desire. Sometimes we just need to get quiet before him.
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