always do the right thing.
it seems obvious. but sometimes it is HARD. really, really hard.
so hard you can’t eat and you just want to throw up.
so hard it may take you a while to get there.
so hard your mind could be filled with what-if and consumed by fear.
so hard your life as you know might never be the same.
the old adage is true – the longer the agony, the deeper the pain.
don’t wait. do the right thing. do it as soon as you can.
and surround yourself with loving, caring people who will hold you up when you start to double over, who will encourage you, pray with you, pray for you, pray that people will bring you cookies to cheer you up, people who don’t mind when you cry, people who are brave enough to tell you to kick the negative thoughts far away, people who will travel thousands of miles to make things right, people who don’t laugh when all you order is mashed potatoes because you can’t think straight…
people who care. simply care.
[to those people, today, i say – thank you].
Comments
17 responses to “advice”
I love this, Anne. Sometimes the right thing is the most-absolute-difficult thing. And sometimes the right thing is really, really scary.
Thank you, again and again, for your transparency and honesty, for your true authenticity.
I really know what you mean about that sick feeling. It’s sad to thing that sin can be so ingrained in us that pulling away can actually have a physical effect.
Praying for you, Anne.
Thanks….Jess, you are absolutely right.
in this particular case: doing the WRONG thing was doing nothing. doing the RIGHT thing was doing something. no sin [at least i dont think so] was involved in the making of this blog post. ;)
[just to clarify] :)
so good that I printed it out and tacked it to the wall in my cubicle.
You have such a way to speak truth.
hmmm…..(the deep, long, i’m-pondering-it kind!) i am reminded by your words how amazingly blessed i am to have friends who look beyond my flaws and hang ups to the me that Jesus sees (which i often don’t see myself)
for example, i got back from work today and a neighbor..i have no idea who…had mowed my front yard. it needed it and i just hadn’t gotten around to it…what a gift it was!
doing the right thing is often hard. it goes against what we want as humans. may i be one who seeks the right thing and then actually acts on what the right thing is.
Hey Anne,
Yeah, I kinda realised that probably wasn’t what you meant after I posted.
But isn’t the “wrong” thing always sin? Or can there be right and wrong within the realm of God’s will?
Jess xx
Great question. Is wrong always sin? Hmmm…I’m gonna have to think on that.
Oh my, how I needed someone to tell me that – today! And how I hope I have those kind of people you described to back me. Praise God for amazing husbands!
I really needed to hear that… thanks.
I enjoy your meanderings, truthfulness, and authenticity.
I have seriously been praying for those people…
I had them in NC but moved to England recently and sometimes feel lonely and desperate for friends I can be transparent with. I’ve also been praying to BE one of those people. Thanks Anne.
Yes…it sounds so simple until you start to apply it, then DANG…that hurts! I, like Jess, find it interesting the physical side of this. And is every wrong a sin? Oiy! Too deep for 5am.
This is great! We had some friends who recently made a very hard, very right decision. It’s still fresh, so it’s hard for them to be SURE that it was the right thing. Praying for God’s blessings for all of you who do the right thing!
Isn’t it the case? most things that seem obvious, are really not easy!
So…..I’m going to do the right thing. I’m going to finish a “program” that I backed out of about 4 years ago. Who wants to “face” their problems? No one, that’s who. When it got down to taking a moral inventory….I bailed. Now it’s time to do it and finish it.
Thanks for being so timely with your posts. You do what God tells you to do.
Thanks, anne.
West
Have you been reading my mind? The words are perfect timming for me. Thanks
That was so wonderfully, beautifully put Anne…you have no idea how close to home that hits for me.
I recently posted about “Mending Fences” and I had to go back and offer an apology to someone that I didn’t “do anything” to, but that was the point…they were hurting, I knew it, but because of the circumstances I was told (not verbally) to stay away and leave them alone. It has been three years, and it has hurt me as a person, but I made the call and asked this person for my forgiveness…because I wasn’t there when they needed me, even though I wanted to be.
It’s the same thing I tell my kids every day…”you have to do the ‘right’ thing even if it is the hard thing.”…and it truly is hard…sometimes it hurts, but I know down in my soul that God smiles when we do.
Loved it…thanks for sahring! ;)
I think you have a lurker who directed me to this post. It’s so good! I read some of the comments, and noticed that ‘is every wrong a sin?’ came up a few times. James actually addresses this, so I’ll give you a reference: James 4:17
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
It seems conviction of sin follows consiousness of sin. Hope that helps! Thanks for the good thoughts!