Learning to Love ... ME

               Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ir·ri·ta·tion
Pronunciation: "ir-&-'tA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 a : the act of irritating b : something that irritates c : the state of being irritated
2 : a condition of irritability, soreness, roughness, or inflammation of a bodily part

There are things that can cause much irritation in ones life.  I know there are things that irritate me; there are people whom can manage to get on my last nerve with little or no effort.  Yesterday as I was enjoying another day strolling around with a good friend, I noticed what felt like a small pebble in my sandal.  I stopped once while walking, removing my sandal and wiping my foot over top of the other hoping to dislodge whatever it was that was causing the irritation.  It did not help.  So after another few steps I stopped once again and this time looked at the sandal to see if indeed there was a pebble imbedded into the sole of  it.  There was not.  So I had to concede that I’d done all that could be done by me to remove the particle that was causing my foot to be irritated.  The more I walked, the worse I felt the pain, and the more I was baffled as to why I was having the irritation.  When we finally managed to get back to the car in the parking lot, I sat down and pulled the bottom of my foot up so that I could examine it to see what was causing the discomfort.  I had a blister!  I have no idea why, or what could have caused it, but it was there and when I stepped down on it, I felt like there was a pebble in my sandal.  I could have easily placed the blame on the sandals, but I’d worn these time and time again without any problems, walked for miles in them and never once felt discomfort… they are my good comfy walking sandals.  So I have to assume that maybe somewhere throughout the day, I did manage to pick up a small pebble and it lodged itself between the ball of my foot and the sandal, and caused the irritation.  I will heal, but in the meantime I will be a bit uncomfortable… when I step down I’ll be reminded what a small pebble can cause, how just a tiny bit of something that’s not right can cause my whole being to suffer.

Just like the small pebble that has caused a blister on my foot, there are acts that people may do daily that irritate someone.  They may lie, they may try to be someone or something they are not…they maytry to convince others they are doing things for the best, when in truth, it’s a selfish act only done for themselves.  In time the person realizes the deception and irritation they cause fail to hurt no one but themselves.  It may start as a small lie and in time, it grows and in growing it can make the whole body sick. 

When you deceive others, or do things that are not on the up and up, sooner or later it’s not only the other person who feels the pain of what you are doing, it will be you.  You need to realize that you are precious to God.  God knows the truth, he knows the good in all and he sees the evil as well.  When you lie, you are not being true to yourself.  What was that quote?  “To thine own self be true”….

Lord as I go through this journey of life, help me to be true to myself, help me to always speak the truth no matter what.  When the truth is told I will not feel the irritation of having to stay one step ahead of the lies that are told.  I know that in my heart, I speak the truth and better yet, Lord You know that I have.  Lord, I know there are people who struggle with knowing what the truth is.  They have lived and told somany lies that it may scare them to realize the impact of the untruthful words they’ve told.  Lord, I pray for these people that they may see the irritation of their souls, the pain they are causing themselves and that like the blister on my foot, they are damaging themselves more than helping.  Lord, as in time the blister will heal, heal the hearts and minds of those Lord who struggle with the telling the truth, the ones who live in a fantasy and who try so desperately to color the way they really are.  Lord, You made us all, you can call us home in the blink of an eye.  I pray Lord that you are with me; you give me the wisdom to speak the truth and to live my life as a reflection of the woman you’d be proud of.  Remove the irritations from my life and replace them with joys that make my feet lighter as I walk, my smile broader and my heart a warm, loving and Godly one.  Dear Lord, bless my family, my friends, my neighbors, people I have yet to meet and those whom have touched my life and whose life I have touched as well.  Lord I pray for those who are walking in darkness and deception and pray that you show them the light and help them to come to terms with the truth. Lord, guide them to see the evil of living such a lie, before the irritation of the lies cause them more pain.  Lord I thank you for the woman I am, the woman I was and the woman that I will be, without you… I am nothing.  In the name of Jesus Christ I humbly pray… Amen.

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