One Step At A Time

The effects of a smile are considered so powerful that even when used over the telephone it produces positive results. (Smile not laughter ???). Smiles have been seen to brighten the darkest moments and weaken the hardest vices yet there's something that works more powerfully than a smile...


Neighbor: 'My love, my sweetheart, my darling, how are you doing today? I'll help you fix your bulb sometime in the evening, for now I'm a bit busy.'

Me: 'Thanks for the bulb, I really appreciate your kindness, but please stop calling me all those names I'm not finding it funny. I may have to cause a scene one day if you don't stop.'

Neighbor: '...but my love, I don't mean any harm. You're such a special person and a darling.'

Me: 'I know, but those words have more gravity than that and shouldn't be used flippantly. What do you want the hearer's to think. They'll surely think something is going on between us. Please don't refer to me like that again...'"

So has my disposition been towards such sweet words. Then I got into a work environment where everyone seems to say nothing else but those words; Darling, sweetheart, dearest, love etc etc etc. It didn't stop there. Even on facebook and blogsville, I see these words sprawled everywhere irrespective of which sex it is being addressed to.

I had to stop and ponder this situation very well.

"He who gives a right answer kisses the lips." Prov 24:26

In an attempt to practice, I realized that just saying the words make your heart feel empathy towards the other person. Most people to whom such nice words are said, immediately return the empathy. This may just be the nicest thing they've heard in a very long time. Needless to say how productive the results can be.

Still prodding into the subject I find God's own say.

"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." (Prov 16:24)

What happiness sweet words can instill in another person. So much so that they get healthier. Hmmm. Little wonder destructive words can kill a person, first inside and then outside.

Armed with this knowledge I have changed my orientation. Beware, the next time I meet you or send you an email, you may be overwhelmed with profuse pleasantries.

What better word is there to speak to your friends, colleagues, husband/wife, neighbors or enemies than the word of God itself that gives life.

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man" (Col. 4:6)

In some form of silent rebellion i had walked away. Minute fears loomed large like they were reality. My faith could not see beyond my not so chubby nose and i figured the best way was to walk away.

Then i walked away from blogging as though to hibernate, wishing some magic would happen and i would switch to auto-blogging mode... but no, seconds turned to days, days to weeks and weeks to months... and i feel bad about it.

In the same vein i quit talking to Him seriously. I figured He would understand, I used 'busy' as an excuse but for how long can I run?

It's called backsliding. I like it or not. When one hour of prayer reduces to 10 minutes, when the day begins and ends without acknowledging His presence or His input, when the word comes to mind with some difficulty and resounds vaguely in the extreme corners of one's mind, when the former seems greater than the latter... Yes, it's called backsliding.

Well, the false calm broke when i traveled through Jo'burg and my box was delayed. I got the box 3 days after with nothing left in it but a pair of jeans and winter jacket, tiny little accessories as toothpaste and tracts (I wondered why the kleptomaniac didn't just clear it all). Every other thing was stolen. All my dear tops and shirts packed into the box, lovely pair of trouser, cosmetics, shoe and slippers... every other item, some I'm still trying to recall.

I sat down in the room staring at this empty box, with several thoughts racing through my mind:

- Be happy the thief has stolen all your problems, it has been exchanged for something worse maybe
- The thief was really in need, so you helped out the person somehow
- The hedge is broken, that is why the serpent could bite...
- My words had just played out. (I had actually said, "I don't care what they steal inside, they should just bring back my box!") Can't believe i actually said that.
- Pray for the person

I didn't know what to pray for person. Vacillating between anger and forgiveness i wondered what to pray. Should the thief be so cursed that they will never steal again? Should the stolen items be tools of evangelism to the person? Should i just forget about this incidence and move on?

Whatever the answer was I knew it was time to drift back to grace. How grace could have prevented this, how grace could have warned ahead of time, how grace could have hidden the box from evil eyes, how grace could have...

"Dear God, all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. Please restore to me and everyone else in need, your grace to survive in this present world. Father forgive and help with your Holy Spirit for me to stay in the centre of your presence every single day. Thank you Jesus."