Tag: prickles

Prickly People

Published on by amylinneaLeave a comment

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3

You know the type.

Recoils when you give a loving pat.

Or even a loving word.

They shun it, choosing instead to dwell on their own misery.

Their prickles scream stay away or else.

You don’t see them at first.

But after the initial reaction, they are completely obvious.

Well, they are obvious, plus you notice a trickle of blood down your arm from their stab.

Ouch!

What did you do?

Think back.

Anything there?

Maybe if you have a teenager, you looked at them wrong.

Or you limited their freedoms based on their choices.

Or insisted they eat veggies before dessert.

Oh the horror!

Guessing you saw prickles.

Maybe your spouse isn’t themselves, responding to your loving words with apathy.

Or they recoil in horror when you suggest a change.

Ouch!

Maybe your friends have a prickly text response.

Maybe your boss is unapproachable and all you feel are prickles.

How about the checker, assuming you still use a real person.

Through no fault of your own, they might be prickly because of their job or life circumstances.

What should you do when encountering prickles?

If you fight back, deliciously succumbing to fleshly desires, you’ll get pricked.

Stabbed.

Blood will trickle out.

Ouch!

Sometimes, their attitudes have nothing to do with you.

You are simply in the way.

Other times, it is directed specifically at you.

I’ll ask again.

What should you do?

What would Jesus do?

Love them.

Provide grace through strength.

Infuse His peace into the circumstances.

While you must stand firm with adolescent discipline, sprinkle in some grace.

Don’t allow yourself to be wounded with someone else’s pricks.

Those are meant to harm you.

But only if you let them.

Stand tall.

Wear your crown, and declare none of this moves me.

I will stay in His peace as I keep my eyes steadfast on Him.

The author and finisher of my peace.

Photos by NeONBRAND, buddika Gunathilaka, & frank mckenna on Unsplash

Prickles

Published on by amylinneaLeave a comment

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. Proverbs 14:29

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How often do your prickles erupt?

Once in awhile?

When life really goes to pot?

When you’ve finally had enough?

Or too, too often….?

Prickles are easy to spot.

In fact, one can feel them rising to the surface.

They’re ugly.

Painful to others.

And frankly to yourself as well.

They put a barrier between you and the world.

It’s normal to get upset-

Just make sure it’s godly.

What?

Treat little annoyances like water off a duck’s back.

They simply don’t move you.

And when your children need your quick firm stand, be as a gentle bear they cannot move. 

If you react instead to life as someone who quickly sprays quills, you’ll be one of those people.

People who need lots of space for whatever mood they happen to jump into.

And you don’t want that.

To be so unpredictable.

People are scared of porcupines, because their prickles can erupt in an instant.

Don’t be prickly.

Be a quiet gentle giant, standing firm when you must, predictable to life.

You can’t often control your circumstances, but you can always control your reaction.

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Photo by matthew Feeney on Unsplash