There are so many cool things to learn in life and from people.  I recently was reminded of this by listening to one woman as she shared her life with me….and what a lesson I learned!

This woman is a homemaker, a mother of three, a crafter, an extreme couponer and a great bargain hunter.  She shares her gifts with many by teaching classes and sharing some of her finds with others.  She inspires me how to save money, and she inspires me to create new things from things I already have.  She also has such a passion for her husband and children with all that she does.  To me she is a great example of a woman who builds her home.

One day she was explaining that she has been judged for having too many things, too many crafts, her large stash from her great finds with coupons etc….  Many of us can look at our neighbors and friends and have a list of things that are wrong with them in our own eyes.  We can look at all they have, the way they act and so on and come up with our own judgement of them and their lives.  Do we ever take the time to realize that they live in a different world than us?  I love the expression, “you live in a very small world”.  I heard this growing up and never really understood it, but now I get it as I am getting older.  This woman deals with much criticism and judgment from people and most of them have no idea what she is all about.

Maybe this woman is a picture of your own life.  You might not live the life that she does but you can relate since you are a person who loves living life and yet people judge you for what you do.  People who don’t really know what you are all about and yet they look at your life and make decisions in their own heads about you.

One day she was chatting with me….she made reference to how some people live in such a small world, and this seems to give them the right to critique others.  One great point she made was that she is always working on finishing a project and then the next one is already waiting for her. Most times they probably haven’t even started their first project and yet we stand in judgement of someone who has done many.  If this is the case, then you certainly don’t have the time to look at your neighbor’s or friend’s yard and criticize and judge.

How many of us sit in judgment of each other’s lives, possessions or things?  I can relate to her because somedays when I am running around doing three or four things in a day, to have someone stop me and question me over the silliest thing.  Then they pass judgment on how or why I am doing what I am doing.  These people probably have no idea who I really am and why I do what I do. How small is their world that they need to live in my world? The verse comes to mind in Proverbs 16:27 (TLB)…..” Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece”.

I once heard that if you are always digging in your own dirt, you will never have the time to see the dirt on someone else.  Today I learned a lesson from my friend, this great quote and a good look at this verse.  I am a very busy person and yet even with all that I do, I too can sit in judgment and ask, “why” do they do that….”how can” they do that and so on.

Today I share a piece of my heart, my thoughts and my life with you.  I pray today that my hands and life are busy for the Lord and that they do not become hands of the devil’s workshop.  I pray that since I have enough dirt in my own life to dig into…that I can have grace and compassion and the right attitude for others instead of sitting in judgment or criticism of them.

Take up the challenge with me today….will you dig in your own dirt instead of others!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother