June 3, 2005

I've been studying this week a bit about inner change. I've been listening to things on the radio, reading about it here & there, & seeing things on television. It astounds me when I see people treat someone badly because of past encounters, experiences or rumors. When we get saved, we change on the inside. However, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone else but, God can see what's going on in there. Oh sure, we may have some of the same nuances as the old us but, the new us is there & kicking & screaming to get out & throw a blanket over the old sinful us. Cover up the bad self & replace it with the good self. However, a reputation can follow you no matter where you run or hide. Thankfully there are a few brave souls in this world who process what's fed to them & get right up & come over & introduce themselves & give you a chance to start from scratch. Pretty cool huh? Too bad more folks aren't like that. What people know about me is the me that was lost. The sinful me. They judge me on that & never even bat an eye at the saved me. The saved me is a brand new person. Some of the old sin nature lurks about but, I rebuke it as much as possible. What people don't know or see about me is that I'm very kind, caring, loving & sensitive. But who wants to get to know that me? Not very many people. They want the old version they can gossip about or torture. Then there's the ones that say, "Oh you'll never change! You've been this way all your life!" Well whoopteedo! Little do they know, that when they weren't looking, God changed me. Thankfully, I've noticed recently that our Christian families notice. There's still an occasional mean streak for the irritating things others do but, for the most part I'm on the side of good now. Some days God REALLY has to wrestle with me to get me to do His will when I'd rather strangle someone! Good thing He's patient with a work in progress. Continue to the next page for a look at my thoughts on being single...