I will admit, it was extremely hard to get out of bed. I set my alarm and surprisingly for the first time in days I actually woke up before it went off. Normally, I just don't hear it, which is strange since that's typically not an issue or me. So I begin with prayer and meditation (see, Hello, Good Morning!) then I am reminded that I have a therapy appointment. It was truly a struggle to leave my bed for several reasons: I was comfortable, I have a cold or sinus whatever and a migraine that I've been fighting since Wednesday. That justifies missing my appointment, right? WRONG! I have a thought, "Obedience is better than Sacrifice" so I drag myself out of bed and try to pull myself together so I look somewhat presentable. I realize that it's my own fault if I am late for my appointment, so at some point I say a quick prayer requesting to get there on time or at maximum 10 minutes late. I hate being late, and the fact that to me it comes across as a sign of disrespect as if that person's time isn't as valuable as yours. Usually when I know I'm going to be late, I dress accordingly so I can run to the office. However due to my cold and the fact that I haven't done laundry, it's apparent I'd need to forgo the jacket and jump into my Uggs. I still ran, but not as much as I'd liked... Anyway...
I arrive at my location and decide to stop at the store next door for a smoothie (Naked, Red Machine) since I hadn't eaten breakfast and I could feel the effects. I have a quick chat with the Security guy who is the coolest then hop in the elevator. As I walk towards the door I pray for the words in which I am supposed to express, I'd stopped rehearsing my conversations long ago. It's funny, I love when the door to the office is closed, I feel as if I am walking into Heaven and giving my requests to God's assistant. I get to the office and look at the clock on the wall which says 10:15am, I remember the clock is typically 5 minutes fast so I check my cell to verify, it's actually 10:11am which was basically what I prayed for. My therapist is happy to see me, she knows my patterns, I'm normally on time with very few missed appointments so when she said that she was worried I wouldn't make it today, I believed her. What I love about her is, I can tell she actually cares; I feel in my being that she thinks about me outside of our one hour weekly encounter.
I express my concerns to her regarding returning to work, as well as how I felt about a couple interactions this past weekend and how it triggered various reactions in me. She gave me an exercise which I will try then we exchanged words regarding something she'd shared with me. Once I left her office I checked Facebook and saw a post from Joyce Meyers stating: Prayer for today: God, what can I do for YOU today?, which I "liked". As I began walking towards my car I was stopped by an elderly lady, I don't know which nationality. Clearly, we don't speak the same language, however I can make out that she wants to go to "3" (my favorite number by the way) so I ask if she's saying she wants to go to "3rd Street", I believe she says yes by her body language. So I walk with her, as I switched to her pace I realized I was a bit frazzled and by slowing my body down I'd began to relax. The lady speaks very little English so it's a bit difficult as she motions different directions to me. I believe she's saying she wants to eat, however I couldn't figure out if she was saying that she was meeting people for lunch, she was hungry or something else. I just focused on taking her to 3rd Street. She held up 3 fingers various times along our journey so I was sure that's what she wanted. The little English she knew she made sure to say "Thank you", "You're a nice person" and "I'm sorry" at times when she thought she was inconveniencing me. I assured her that she did not need to apologize and I welcomed her each time she said Thank you. Then I could tell she was trying to offer to buy me lunch for helping her and I declined, I told her "It was my pleasure". As we approached 3rd Street she began to say "Chinatown" and I began to look for people of that nationality as we walked down the streets. I couldn't find anyone however I saw a bus which indicated that it travelled through/to Chinatown so I pointed and informed her. I waited with her until she got onto the bus and I let the driver know that she wanted to go to Chinatown. As I walked away I prayed that I'd done the right thing and the lady reached her destination safely. I then wished I could speak various languages for such a time as this...
Once I arrived home I understood that I needed to rest, even though I wanted to do so many other things, I listened to my body. Once I awakened and completed various tasks I realized I hadn't taken care of one important business matter. I send a text to ensure the person I needed to meet with was in the office, once she responded and confirmed she was, I informed her I'd be on my way and checked if it were okay. She said yes so I grabbed the necessary documents and was on my way. Once I arrive at her office I see her daughter as well as another young lady, which I assumed was a friend from school. I conducted my business and realized the lady I'd gone to visit was swamped with work and had to attempt to entertain her daughter and the friend at the same damn time. So I struck up a conversation with the children who were drawing pictures, somehow either the little girl or I mentioned Mermaids and the conversation took a turn. We all (the 2 children and I) LOVE Mermaids, so the daughter invites me to draw with them, I accept and began doodling, the daughter then says to me that she's writing a book so I tell her "I'll make the cover for you", and she agrees. Various times the daughter disrupts her mother because she's ready to go home. I will admit, at times it's hard for me to watch people interact with their children, especially when there is a breakdown. I sat by and struck up a conversation with the friend so she wouldn't know the details of the daughter's chastisement. Once the daughter returned I took control of the situation and it eventually allowed the mother to complete her work and the daughter to bond with me (and vice versa). At times during our conversations I'd remembered various Spanish words I'd learned over the years and the daughter was a bit shocked as she asked (in English) if I understood Spanish and I replied "poquito" we exchanged a few more words this way then continued coloring.
I ended my evening with meditation and prayer on my balcony and as I replayed the day in my head I had a thought about "The Tower of Babel". I then had an epiphany regarding language and understood some things:
- Sometimes we must take the time to learn someone else's language in order to communicate with them properly; this is the only way to accomplish the common goal.
- Everyone aint for Everybody... Sometimes you may do your best to learn someone's language and there's still a breakdown; if that is the case, it's your job to identify their language and attempt to learn it. That is, if you care to establish a connection, otherwise, cut your loses and move forward
- Be honest about the reason(s) you are holding on or letting go!- If you are letting go because you feel in your soul that it's time to let this person go, so be it. However, if you want to let that person go because YOU dont want to put forth the effort or it's uncomfortable that's something totally different.
- If you are doing your very best to learn someone's language and they don't offer any insight or attempt to teach you how to communicate with them, it's because they aren't interested. Pray for them and move on.
- First understand then seek to be understood
It completely goes hand in a hand with the events of my life in this moment, the message at Morning Worship this past Sunday and various thought's have had for the past few weeks. In my mind I understand that it all makes sense. So now when I get the word to do something I normally wouldn't I just laugh and say "okay", I find it's getting much easier and more rewarding since I've made that one simple change. Just say "Yes, Lord" and watch things shift.
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