Deadly Illusions

Okay, that may be slightly dramatic. I’m not really talking about death, but then again maybe I am.

The last few days have been smacking with the reality that perception is everything. At least we think it is everything. It is astonishing what our minds are able to create from nothing. Houdini would be proud.

Not long ago I was confronted with the declaration that I obviously didn’t like something because I had not commented on said object. The truth was that I had not seen this item due to my hectic schedule. When things slowed enough for me to notice, I commented on how nice I thought it was. It never occurred to me that a change had taken place and my failure to acknowledge the change could create such discontent in the heart of another.

A few days later I was eating a tasty potato soup with cornbread. I paused as I was eating. This was not out of character, as I am a slow eater, and my esophagus doesn't always play nice with letting food pass easily. This was common knowledge to my eating companions, but one looked at me and asked, “Don’t you like your soup? You aren't eating.”

I’m not sure how a 30 second pause equaled dislike for my lunch, but it must have. Then again, it could have been my body language. My head was throbbing, and I was irritated over a few ridiculous, tiny issues. Still that would seem to indicate a bad mood, not dislike of potato soup.

And seriously, who could dislike potato soup (or any potato dish) regardless of the circumstance?

I was sharp and impatient with my reply, pointing out the ridiculousness of the question. As I answered a scripture verse flashed through my mind. When I say flashed I mean I heard it and saw it in a soft, slightly scripted font. It was pretty definite.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  Ephesians 4:29

I think that verse was so prevalent because I had just been talking about it a few days earlier as I shared an old post. It spoke about feeding in that which is good so that good is what comes from us. It’s called “What's in Your Well”, and you can read it HERE.

It wasn't lost on me that I had not spent much time in God’s beautiful, Holy, timeless Word lately. I had not been filling my well with all the things found in Philippians 4:8, so it was natural for impatience and disrespect to flow from me.

The end result was a a minuscule bit of a relationship that was critically injured. My heart has been heavy and my apologies have been made. Now it is time to spend time with the One who can renew my spirit.