Today, in a conversation, something came up that made me realize that I really must begin thinking a bit more about people who might annoy me. Someone said that people today are avoiding casual contact with neighbors and others, except for close friends and relatives, because they are afraid if they ask someone how they are, that person will tell them. He said he does not want to get a list of all their aches, pains, and personal troubles, that he has enough of his own.
Today, that hit home. At a July 4th get-together, which drew a lot less people than we had expected, someone asked me about my current limp. Well, I’m almost 70, and my left knee is arthritic and cranky at times; my right foot has a bunion, and a hammer toe hugging up and over the bunion toe, and an ingrown toenail next to that. All the muscles under those toes bunch up. It’s difficult to not limp. So, I answered, but briefly. A gal next to me jumped right in before I could finish, with a litany of her own knee troubles, and more. At first, I was annoyed because, hey, this was one of my few chances at sympathy.
Then I suddenly realized that this gal lived alone, was 10 years older than me, and needed someone to hear and care. I let her talk and asked a question or two and then helped change the subject. She seemed very content to know that someone really listened to her. I didn’t tell her how close I came to not listening because I was too self-absorbed, almost, to care.
Lord, help to always take that little moment that is needed by people you place in my path. /ItemPage>
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