The Closer I Get

I have a tendency to be overly sensitive sometimes. It works for me and against me. When it works for me, I am my most compassionate self. Sensitive to the needs of others, in tune with the vibrations of those around me. I find that I can be watching the news and hear about a particular persons' distress and immediately have empathy for what they are going through. But there are times that I wish I weren't so sensitive. Particularly as it relates to receiving criticism or the opinions of others. I am working on being delivered from the stamp of approval from outsiders, but honestly, I ain't there yet. Last night, I was at an event to benefit foster youth, a cause I am passionate about. I spent most of the day with my co-workers setting up, organizing, arranging and planning to help ensure that everything went smoothly. By the time the night was under way, I was feeling pretty confident that the overall message was clear to every guest. My part in the whole evening was but a minor piece in comparison to the cause: to raise funds to keep our agency going. I wrote a poem that we used as a basis for a new campaign. Save our seeds. I gave it the energy and care it deserved because I wanted the people there not to focus on me, the poet, but the words that were given to me. Afterwards I had an elderly lady come to me and tell me that though she loved my words, she felt that she should tell me that I was sending the wrong message with my clothes. I immediately got offended. First of all, I thought I was looking cute. It's Florida, a midsummer night, so I bought a nice spaghetti strap blouse with a skirt to match. I still can't see what was wrong with it. She went on to tell me that she was going to by me a dress for the next time I speak. I smiled graciously and held my peace out of respect for her. But I was vexed for the rest of the night. But I thank God because the closer I get to him, the more I am able to see the changes he has made in me. There was a time when I would have given her a piece of my mind and told her where she could put her dress and her unwanted opinion. But I realize that my gift is not for everyone and not all people will receive me no matter how deep and profound my gift may be. The closer I get to God, the more he makes me see that there are alot of folks out there caught up in religiosity that are looking the part of a "christian", but missing the mark altogether. Some ankle-dress-wearing-bible-toting-shirt-buttoned-up-to-the-neck hypocrites are gonna bust hell wide open with the closemindedness. And why? Because they are paying attention to the messenger as opposed to the message.



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