PDL

Every day, my friend and co-worker Dana sends me a Purpose Driven Life quote from her daily calendar. Wow. These always make me think:

05/17/06
One of the ways God measures spiritual maturity is by the quality of your relationships. In heaven God won’t say, “Tell me about your career, your bank account, and your hobbies.” Instead he will review how you treated other people, particularly those in need. Jesus said…”Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40 NRSV).

05/11/06
God wants you to be in regular, close fellowship with other believers so you can develop the skill of loving. Love cannot be learned in isolation. You have to be around people—irritating, imperfect, frustrating people.

I love that....irritating, imperfect and frustrating. I know I am that to people. I know people are that to me. Isn't it great when you understand that things can be less than perfect? So much weight lifted off our shoulders. I've found the older I get, the more I'm able to say, "oops. I screwed up." I have a quote hanging in my cube which states this:

The next time you feel compelled to bawl someone out or judge them too harshly, take a deep breath and remember to 'give 'em a break.' Who knows, maybe the next time you perform less than perfectly, someone will give you a break, too."

I wish some of my co-workers...friends...family members could live by this. Sometimes it's difficult to be me in my situations....sometimes it's difficult to know me and my situations. I take it and I dish it out. I guess my revelation is that I recognize my behavior and God is helping me see so many things I need to fix and apologize for.

Let me know if you want to get these daily PDLs. I'll hook you up.