Not Judging, Just Living

 Recently I was realizing how quickly we are to judge. I know we've all heard it before, "Judge not that ye be not judged (Matt. 1:7)." But for some reason lately it hit me with such a deeper meaning. 

 I remember when I was preparing to leave for Fountainview last summer and my friends who had attended there previously were sharing all their experiences and talking about all the people they new and such. Don't get me wrong there is absolutely nothing wrong with sharing experiences amongst friends. It was very helpful in many ways. However, what I realized was that these stories played a major role in shaping my opinion of the place I was headed for, and the people I had yet to meet face to face. I found myself entering my new chapter full of pre-conceived ideas (not necessarily bad ones). It's just that instead of taking the advice of my friends and all there stories as helpful hints as they meant them to be, I took them as exactly what it would be like for me. Now its true that each persons experience would be similar because it is the same place and such. However, I think sometimes we forget how different each person is. We all have a different story and of course even two people living in the exact same environment will have a different take on the life there leaving. We all connect with different kinds of people and feel comfortable in varying atmospheres. Through this experience I realized that we must each take the information we learn about places, people, and ideas that other people tell us and then look into it for ourselves. We MUST realize we are all so very different and every persons opinion is valuable. I learned I must get to know each person myself and respect who they are and what they believe instead of basing my opinion of someone on someone elses. If we were to always try to be understanding of each persons individual opinion as we would want them to do for us judging would be a far less problem. 

 The above just kind of came to me as I was thinking about the text I mentioned. What really got me thinking about this topic was all this Coronavirus madness going around. EVERY SINGLE PERSON has an opinion on this subject. Whether you be for mask wearing, or against it, wether you don't like all the control, or you think it's all political, or perhaps your legitimately scared of the virus, these are all valid opinions and arguments. Something this whole thing has taught me is that EVERYONE has an opinion and it's quite likely it may differ from yours or mine. This is a time more than ever to learn to be understanding of peoples feelings, concerns, and opinions. If you disagree with someone you can still try to be understanding and let them be free to share there thoughts on the matter just as you should be free to have your convictions. So much judging goes on about how nuts some people are, wether it be me thinking it about someone or someone thinking it about me. It's just a good time to learn how to agree to disagree with people and be respectful of others. 

 Another thing I have personally experienced as a young person is that everyone has an opinion about your future or what you should do. Even if not stated there is generally an expectation of what a person should do after high school. COLLEGE. This has always been a sore spot for me, because that was not my wish. There has never been a time when I wished to go to college. I had no career path I wanted to follow. My dream has ALWAYS been to be a wife and mama, grow my own food, have animals, and have an in-home daycare. But in the modern world you say that and people look at you like you may have lost your marbles. There seems to be so much expectation that young people must go to college to better themselves. Having your own family comes second it seems. For me, I never wanted the debt of college for a career I didn't really want, and my parents have always been supportive of whatever I wanted to put my energy into. On the other hand if someone has a career they wholeheartedly want to pursue I say go for it! College is there for those who have a desire to continue and do more and I greatly admire that. I also firmly believe it should be an individuals own decision as to whether they wish to further their education and each young person should be encouraged to chase the life they want to live and the one God has purposed for each one. He has an individual journey for each and every one of us and we just may miss out on it if we're not willing to break tradition. Do what He wants you to do, not what others think you should do. 

 Again, don't judge a person by the path God chose for them. He is working to put us all exactly where He wants us and we have no right to judge where He has placed someone else. So until next time, be happy where He put you and encourage others on the journey they've been set upon to tread! 💕

Blessings,

Sarah