Tag: people

‘People Pain’

Jennifred Jones

Of all the types of pain in the world, it seems the worst one to endure and the hardest one to deal with is people-pain.

This morning at work a man came into the office so angry about something, that I wasn’t sure what was on his mind. I greeted him with kind words and then he, without saying a word or changing his expression, threw his paperwork over the counter at me and turned and left. I told him thank you and wished him a good day, just as I would anyone else coming in the office.

A gentle answer turns away wrath.

For him, this is normal behavior. He seems not to know joy, peace, kindness and that saddens me. He must be holding onto pain and bitterness from something long ago.

The thought came to me while eating lunch, ‘People have to free themselves of their pain.’ Whether they take it out on someone else or themselves, they have a need to rid themselves of their pain. Of course the ways many people try to do this doesn’t give genuine relief; it may just be enough to keep the pressure cooker from exploding inside them.

I thought, ‘God did not create His creation to endure pain and suffering…especially emotional pain and what I now call ‘people-pain’…pain caused through relationships with others.

Yes, we will have to endure people-pain and all sorts of emotional pain and suffering while we live on this planet; however, God did not intend us to bear it alone.

God provided a way to get rid of the burden of pain and suffering caused in our relationships with others. We have to take it all to Jesus. He says, “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately andcares about you watchfully.” I Peter 5:7 AMP.

We have to give it up; give the people causing pain up; say to God, “I can’t take it any longer! You deal with it for me.’

He is there to help you in your time of trouble.

Jesus is our pain killer. He bore it so we didn’t have to. We will have many, many pains and cares, troubles and worries every day, and His shoulders are big enough to handle them all!

Every single pain!!!

God didn’t make you to bear the pain. He said, “I will.” But you have to give it to Him first. You have to know He cares and that you can take it all to Jesus and He won’t make fun of you for coming, or chastise you for not being strong on your own. He says, “Come to Me.”

I’m praying for that man to take it to Jesus so he can be free. Yes it is his choice, but I am still praying for him to make that good choice.

How do you handle your ‘people-pain’?

 

 

People

Jennifred Jones

The more I interact with others…shopping, standing in line, passing by in the hallway somewhere…department stores, elevators, bus-stops, restaurants, gas stations, or just walking up and down the sidewalk, the more I notice people want, need recognition, acceptance. They desire to be noticed for who they are, even if they don’t look like it, even if they have their face bent towards their phone or head down reading a book, they want to be noticed, acknowledged and appreciated.

‘Well that’s a mouthful for you to say’, you might say. ‘He looks angry, she appears stuck-up, they look busy, I’m not going to interrupt and bother them’. I don’t mean strike up a lengthy conversation…just a pleasant, ‘Hi’, or ‘Hello, how are you today?’ Or ‘Isn’t this a beautiful day?’ (even if it’s not, it still is, because we’re alive:) Or we might surprise them by telling them we like their hair style, or their outfit, or what a wonderful family they have….something, anything positive to break the silence in so many lives, yearning for contact with another human being that even though they may appear busy—hiding behind their phone or book they still yearn for attention.

God has made us to need other people.

Catch people off guard with something positive, kind or helpful to say to them and watch it brighten their day. Whether you see the result of not, even the most grouchy person will feel the warmth of care when someone speaks kindly to them.

Yes, you can, we can, change the temperature, so to speak, in another person’s life just by loving them.

I have on purpose, ‘butted into people’s lives’ as they were all engrossed in their phone while they walked down the sidewalk to tell them, ‘Hi! Nice day out isn’t it?’ with the express purpose of sharing a bit of unasked for human kindness to brighten their day.  They look up surprised and then, when they realize, I am talking to them, they respond with a smile and a ‘Hi’ back. Not all have, but they still heard me and knew someone was thinking about them.

It would surprise us if we knew how much alike we all are, wanting acceptance from another person. We have become experts at hiding ourselves from others, and it is injuring us on the inside.

Give acceptance and loving care to other people. They need to receive it and we need to give it so we both can be made whole.

Begin today and reach out more to others.

 

Proper English and Good Grammar

Jennifred Jones

Back in the day… the school days that is… spelling, English and grammar were my cup of tea. I still think it has its place; however, it is not as important as reaching people using, if necessary, everyday English and ‘grammese’.

So, in case some wonder why my sentences may not ring grammatically true, or end in a pronoun, or why some of my words are not even in the dictionary, the reason is because (and that is another no-no to good grammar)…I hope to reach people’s hearts, not their English teacher’s grade-book.

We can get bent out of shape in our quest for perfection and miss the work God is trying to do in our lives, because the comma was improperly used or the same tense and pronoun usage was not ‘obeyed’ throughout the entire work!

Cast that aside! We are talking to real people about real things, real problems, real solutions, real events and many people would just prefer if they were ‘spoken to’ in common everyday working English. Not something from the halls of Harvard, or yelled from Yale. ( I know that was a run-on sentence too.)

I have nothing against higher education, but there is One higher than higher education. He is the one I aim to please.

So please, forgive my English!