"They may see the good you do as self-serving,
Continue to do good.
They may see your generosity as grandstanding,
Continue to be generous.
They may see your warm and caring nature as a weakness.
Continue to be warm and caring.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway."
-Anonymous
Anonymous. A beautiful word. If one uses it during the appropriate situation. Allow me to explain.
Have you ever received a beautifully hand-written note of encouragement in your mailbox? One which caused an ear-to-ear smile? Your smile was temporarily interrupted as you realized the sender was anonymous? Then after re-reading this precious note and dwelling in the curiousity zone for a moment, you shed a tear because someone cared! It didn't matter who sent it. All that mattered was that someone took time to bless you.
I have never received such a surprise in my mailbox. However, I have sent many. Anonymously. And so, dwelling on this topic of anonymity today, I decided to share the above poem. I had come across this encouragement in a magazine. I had clipped it out and stuffed it "who knows where?" The other day, this little 2"x2" clipped poem appeared on my kitchen counter. No idea how it appeared on my kitchen counter. My husband told me he did not put it there. And so...this poem anonymously re-entered my world. God's timing is always perfect!
The last few weeks I had been struggling with difficult personalities. Love them. Just love them. Listen more. Speak less. Pray a lot more! was the mantra God's Holy Spirit clearly had been infusing into my brainwaves as several women from different sects of my life challenged my ethos.
See, I had been trying to do good deeds in silence. In humility. In obedience to God's calling, to God's gifting to me of talents that He commanded me to share with others. Those talents and gifts were to be done in such a way that it would be easy Matthew 11:30. These tasks would not be done with fanfare but in the fear and reverence of my Lord Jesus (which is always orderly and done with the right heart.)
Not that I was a lone ranger by any means, but I did not ask for help. I did not involve others. However, others decided to get involved. They decided that their way was better than mine. They delegated themselves to take up the tasks that had been bestowed upon me. To share their opinions unasked. To do a better job than which the agent (that would be me) of the God of this Universe had chosen.
Granted, in each situation the respective person did not hide their power play nor respect the words I shared to inform her that I was fine and that I would let her know if I needed her help. And when plans were shanghied and chaos loomed on the horizon, I did not judge her or critique her performance. I did not try and save the day, I just watched and waited as the plates which had been taken from my hands spun in the air. She had each plate spinning high above her head. I watched the plates spin majestically in the air and patiently stood by. However, with resignation and sadness, because I knew soon enough that I would have to pick up the pieces.
Sure enough, each plate came crashing down and loudly crashed onto the earth. Crash. Crack. Shards of something that had not been given to another to be spun.
And in each case, I took charge and restarted that which I had begun. I picked up the pieces carefully in order to avoid a cut - in this case, in order to avoid hurting another's ego, another's pride, another's denial of wrongdoing. As an anonymous author pens a poem, I gave a gift. I showed love and kindness and not blame or I told you so.
And then again pondered the above poem. Why does someone remain anonymous when doing something good for God? And then this poem reminded me. The last line was the most important line in the entire poem.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway."
-Anonymous
Oh Lord Jesus, help me to not always need to defend myself. To not stand up on my pillar of pride and announce myself to others. Help me God, to just keep doing what I have been doing, and to know that this race of life is one to be run with perserverance. Help me to forgive those that judge me but yet do not even know me. Help me to do the anonymous things to bless others. Show me how to live for You. Help me God, to be Anonymous for You.
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning to dance in the rain." - Anonymous
Continue to do good.
They may see your generosity as grandstanding,
Continue to be generous.
They may see your warm and caring nature as a weakness.
Continue to be warm and caring.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway."
-Anonymous
Anonymous. A beautiful word. If one uses it during the appropriate situation. Allow me to explain.
Have you ever received a beautifully hand-written note of encouragement in your mailbox? One which caused an ear-to-ear smile? Your smile was temporarily interrupted as you realized the sender was anonymous? Then after re-reading this precious note and dwelling in the curiousity zone for a moment, you shed a tear because someone cared! It didn't matter who sent it. All that mattered was that someone took time to bless you.
I have never received such a surprise in my mailbox. However, I have sent many. Anonymously. And so, dwelling on this topic of anonymity today, I decided to share the above poem. I had come across this encouragement in a magazine. I had clipped it out and stuffed it "who knows where?" The other day, this little 2"x2" clipped poem appeared on my kitchen counter. No idea how it appeared on my kitchen counter. My husband told me he did not put it there. And so...this poem anonymously re-entered my world. God's timing is always perfect!
The last few weeks I had been struggling with difficult personalities. Love them. Just love them. Listen more. Speak less. Pray a lot more! was the mantra God's Holy Spirit clearly had been infusing into my brainwaves as several women from different sects of my life challenged my ethos.
See, I had been trying to do good deeds in silence. In humility. In obedience to God's calling, to God's gifting to me of talents that He commanded me to share with others. Those talents and gifts were to be done in such a way that it would be easy Matthew 11:30. These tasks would not be done with fanfare but in the fear and reverence of my Lord Jesus (which is always orderly and done with the right heart.)
Not that I was a lone ranger by any means, but I did not ask for help. I did not involve others. However, others decided to get involved. They decided that their way was better than mine. They delegated themselves to take up the tasks that had been bestowed upon me. To share their opinions unasked. To do a better job than which the agent (that would be me) of the God of this Universe had chosen.
Granted, in each situation the respective person did not hide their power play nor respect the words I shared to inform her that I was fine and that I would let her know if I needed her help. And when plans were shanghied and chaos loomed on the horizon, I did not judge her or critique her performance. I did not try and save the day, I just watched and waited as the plates which had been taken from my hands spun in the air. She had each plate spinning high above her head. I watched the plates spin majestically in the air and patiently stood by. However, with resignation and sadness, because I knew soon enough that I would have to pick up the pieces.
Sure enough, each plate came crashing down and loudly crashed onto the earth. Crash. Crack. Shards of something that had not been given to another to be spun.
And in each case, I took charge and restarted that which I had begun. I picked up the pieces carefully in order to avoid a cut - in this case, in order to avoid hurting another's ego, another's pride, another's denial of wrongdoing. As an anonymous author pens a poem, I gave a gift. I showed love and kindness and not blame or I told you so.
And then again pondered the above poem. Why does someone remain anonymous when doing something good for God? And then this poem reminded me. The last line was the most important line in the entire poem.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway."
-Anonymous
Oh Lord Jesus, help me to not always need to defend myself. To not stand up on my pillar of pride and announce myself to others. Help me God, to just keep doing what I have been doing, and to know that this race of life is one to be run with perserverance. Help me to forgive those that judge me but yet do not even know me. Help me to do the anonymous things to bless others. Show me how to live for You. Help me God, to be Anonymous for You.
"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning to dance in the rain." - Anonymous
Help us all to dance Lord, this side of Heaven and on into Eternity with you! - In Jesus's Name I pray. Amen.
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