Don't take it personal

Yesterday, I spent a bit of time with my gorgeous nephew Shawn and he served as a great reminder to me of things I need to learn. He is 2 years and 5 months old and full of energy and curiosity. He loves to get into things, try things out, and experiment. He comes to my house and every item I own becomes his next big interest, for a few minutes. Yesterday he was playing with my refrigerator magnets and learning that they stick to each other, to the fridge, and not to certain other areas in my house. Neither Hilliary or I got to him in time to keep the magnets from their swim in Nika's water dish. These are things he is doing now on a minute by minute basis and of course driving his mama crazy!

Hilliary and I were talking and she was feeling overwhelmed by his sudden new need to try everything and not listen very well either. I was reminding her about where he is in his development and saying to her "Don't take it personally" when I realized I need to take my own advice. Reminding Hilliary that Shawn is simply a two year old with a lot of world questions and not a child who really wants his mother to be near insanity is when I realized that I take so many things personally in my life and allow them to be hindrances to my walk with Christ, my relationship with my husband, and even my self-care.

I take it personally when a bill is overdue and we can't figure out how to make ends meet. I blame God and feel like he doesn't love me because all things don't fall in place easily. I take it personally when my husband forgets to do something I have asked him to do yet don't want him to take it personally when the same thing happens to me because I have overbooked myself with things to do. I take it personally when I feel awful and people do not stop needing me, instead of drawing boundaries and taking care of myself so I can feel better. I can truly take a lesson from Mr. Shawn Lee and not take it personally!

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