Monday, January 7, 2013

Jump In And Participate!

          During the first few years of my marriage I was very jealous of all the time my husband spent with his family, leaving me at home. I would rant and rage because I was left out, angry because he seemed to prefer his family over me. His parents would invite him out to play golf while I was left at home. I felt left out, a gangrenous appendage. I felt unwanted and unloved.
            Maybe this sounds petty and immature. It was. I had been a loner most of my life and was inept at relationships and joining in. I would rant and rage because he seemed to prefer his family over me. People had to walk on egg shells to keep from upsetting me.
            Perhaps they should have offered to include me, but why should they? I had given them no incentive to include me with my attitude. No one wants to be around a grouch. My in-laws put up with an awful lot of guff from me. What right had I to treat them the way I did? It wasn't their fault I wasn't a joiner. It wasn't their fault I had always been a misfit, a loner. It certainly wasn't their fault that I had a chip on each shoulder.
            A few days ago my mother-in-law was cleaning out her closet and she gave me a couple of skirts. The old me would have wondered if it wasn't a sneaky way of saying my clothes weren't good enough. However, I know better now. My mother-in-law has forgiven me for all of that stuff from many years ago. We have a great relationship now. I wore the skirt to church yesterday and we made a trip to see her before going back to church last night so I was still wearing the skirt. She was very pleased to see me wearing it. It's a pretty skirt and goes nicely with a shawl/scarf I received for Christmas.
            If you want to have good relationships, if you want to be included, be someone people want to be around. Romans 12:18 says, "If it be possible, as much as lieth within you, live peaceably with all men." Be a contagious personality. Be someone others want to be around. God bless.

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