THE WISDOM OF A FRIEND

THE WISDOM OF A FRIEND

I am a responsible person, but maybe like some of you, I sometimes take on the responsibility that doesn’t belong to me, and it can get me in trouble.

When we fall prey to weaknesses in our personalities, it’s great to have a wise spiritual friend to turn to—someone we can trust, who will listen to our problems and tell us the truth.

My best friend Jane is that person. I’ve said, “Everyone needs a Jane” on several occasions. She is extremely wise. She’s like a scout in the frontier days. She knows my capabilities and my weaknesses, and she can also spot the traps.

When we lived in South Africa, we learned about water buffalo and how, when they know they are being hunted, they circle back and hunt the hunter. Jane’s like a spiritual tracker, who can see what that buffalo is doing and then get out of its way and to safety.

I remember a time at work when I almost fell into the “taking on someone else’s responsibility” trap.

I started to fill out some paperwork a new worker gave me, but I didn’t feel at peace about it. Something just wasn’t right, and I didn’t know what it was. I mulled it over for three days, and it was still bothering me, so I told the story to Jane.

She instantly saw it for what it was spiritually – a trap!

It was not any of my business to handle the paperwork. It should have gone to my boss. But when the new worker gave it to me, I somehow felt responsible, and I took it. When Jane pointed that out, I realized that although the paperwork wasn’t given to the wrong person on purpose, and even though I could have easily filled it out, it wasn’t my job. I sure didn’t want to put a rift between my boss and myself over a silly piece of paperwork.

When we know what’s our responsibility and what’s not, it’s easier to stay free from stress in that area.

Jane helped me with that. If you don’t have a spiritual scout to watch out for you and who will listen and honestly help you, you can certainly pray for someone to come your way. Having someone who knows us and watches out for us is a great blessing!

Love, Carolyn

Check out my first book, WINGS: A JOURNEY IN FAITH  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=WINGS%3A+A+JOURNEY+IN+FAITH+