It was lunch break…
Unlike other teachers, I was in the library reading and going through my emails. In this particular instance, I was eyeing for a much-anticipated email from a recruitment agency.
I always thought about how it would be to work abroad. I never came across to put a concrete plan in place other than just apply for a job, which by the way I did not have much hope of being selected to after the interview.
My biggest fear which strangely is my biggest dream.
It is quite peculiar to dread and look forward to the same thing. Having not yet opened this email flushed me pale and filled me with sap of confusion.
With no idea what the response might be, a pounding heart and a spew of mixed feelings in my head, I open the email.
‘We are happy to inform that you have been accepted for this role…’
For a few seconds, I couldn't move. I just felt frozen. Should I be happy?
I had a choice.
Although I felt content at my then workplace, I knew there was never going to be an opportunity for me to advance and prove my skills being worth more. My husband, on the other hand, felt more of this discrimination at his workplace due to our beliefs and hence was more keen to move abroad.
You have the power to build or break someone.
What happens if I relinquished the nascent idea of working overseas? I would have ripped my family of a better chance of freedom from discrimination. What I had then was a choice of either building my family or not do anything about an opportunity that presented me with the option of doing so. You see, by declining I was refusing not taking any action to benefit them, which is equally harmful.
As children of God, we are always presented with a choice. We are created in His image not to be slaves but to be free. This freedom of choice is very liberating and it is up to us how we use it.
Mine was not a unique episode. Every individual in their life span is met with many such instances. It can be a loved one or anyone from a circle of friends or colleagues or even someone from the community. The matter of the fact is that we have the choice and the power to build or to break someone’s life.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Call to Action
How can we take the first step to be the doers and not the thinkers? How can we be makers and not breakers of someone’s spirit?
Talk To Someone Today:
Since most of us are in lockdown due to the pandemic and we have restricted meet up options, why don’t we pick the phone?
Call that friend or colleague or that family member that you have not called in a long time. Call that member from your church that you once chatted at the monthly luncheon. Ask how they are feeling. If there is not much you can help with, just lend a listening ear. Let them vent out and pray with them.
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6
Motivate Someone Today:
Be mindful of the words you use. Nothing can break a person’s spirit as quickly as words from your mouth. Although you are not responsible for their lack of energy or enthusiasm, you can certainly try lifting them up.
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
Be Compassionate To Someone Today:
Don’t just be empathic to someone … take it to notch up…be compassionate. Offer a solution… A solution that you can directly offer or guide them in the right direction. Listen and be open to any kind of disagreement. Understand that this person is trying to find contentment in life just like you.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
Thoughtful words and actions have the power to transform. Every day presents us with options and opportunities to help each other… to build or to tear down. Give yourself the permission… ask God for His grace… ask God for the Holy Spirit to guide you because the path is not easy.
A kingdom man understands that God never said a godly life would be easy; He just said it would be worth it. — Tony Evans
In The End, All You Need Is Some Grace, Seasoned With Salt
Who do you choose to be?
- Thinkers or the doers
- Breakers or makers
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6
