Grace and Salt

This time of year I always get into a very emotional state. I love the meaning of Christmas, the time I get to spend with my family and extended family, where no one is running off to another priority. My time with God is sweetened by the fire in the fireplace, the cozy blanket on my lap, the warm coffee in my hand and the ambiance given by the darkness of the room being brought to life by the lights on the trees. I find my self spending more time with God and in His word, looking for the wisdom and guidance only He can provide. Then, it starts. The Devil tries to ruin my time with God by putting anger, resentment and hurt feelings in my head. He gets someone to start an argument on social media about someone (me) putting their Christmas tree up too early. Then, everyone in the US of A has to chime in to give their 2 cents about the topic. Black Friday rolls around and everyone takes their focus off the trees and onto who is open, who is closed, and who acted worse in the checkout line. Oh, and don't let me forget about the argument of the self check out. My mind is spinning circles as I type, just thinking about it. Who understands what I a saying? I am not writing this to ask your opinion or give you mine on any of the above topics, but I am going to give you a little bit of help.

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

Colossians 4:6 KJV

So many times we think, as Christians we have to agree on everything. I mean, if we are all Christians, then are minds are all shaped just alike right? God gave us free will, we have opinions, we see things differently. The important thing is how we respond. Do we respond with Grace? Do we speak out of Love? Do we Love the other person, even though we disagree with them? Now, if we are who we say we are, if we are the God fearing Christians we say we are and strive to be, then yes. If not, we need to work on things, and trust me I am constantly working on things. I talk to myself at Wal-mart, I talk to myself while on social media, I bite my toungue and give myself a pep talk when standing in line waiting to check out. I have to remind myself constantly who's child I am and the plan He has for me. I want to make my Heavenly father proud, and that takes constant coaching.

There is a woman I serve on a school committee with and the Devil uses her to get under my skin. You know, has a negative response to everything you say, looks down on you because, well I haven't figured that one out yet, but just a negative Nancy! It's funny how much one person can challenge you, but that one person has helped me speak with grace, seasoned with salt. It's almost become a game. I know every time I go to a meeting what she is going to do, so I challenge myself to speak with grace. In the beginning she won more than I did, but with lots of prayer and practice, I am becoming the champion! I write this with total laughter and remember the years of trials, but man the stories I could tell. lol Please just remember, your not alone when you deal with a difficult negative Nancy!