Everyone Has A Story

Ever felt that if someone could just spend some time in your shoes, they would not be so quick to judge you? Have you ever jumped to a conclusion about another woman without knowing the facts of her story? 

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The first morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
'That laundry is not clean', she said. 'Apparently she doesn't know how to wash correctly or maybe she needs better laundry soap'.
Her husband looked on but remained silent. Every time their neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.
A month later, the woman was surprised to see nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: 'Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?'
Her husband said, 'I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.'

This story tells us that what we see when watching others, depends on the cleanliness of our own window!

Every woman has a story; a story that involves challenges and victories, pain and joy, fear, and peace. But what if we were able to spend some time in her shoes? Would what see, think, or feel about her change? 

We do not know all that has taken place in the life of the divorced mom who must leave her kids with a sitter so she can work 2 jobs to put food on the table. We might look at her as someone who is more interested in her career than her family. But perhaps she was involved in an abusive relationship or was deserted by her husband, left alone to take care of her children without help. 

Or what about the young mom who is on government assistance and going to college? Are we tempted to make a snap judgment about her and assume that she is using the system or taking advantage? 

Ladies, we need to remember that how we see others is not always who they are. It’s possible that we are looking through a window colored by that person’s past actions or associations.

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This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 
2 Corinthians 5:17 

This verse tells us that we become a new person when we accept Jesus. If we believe that is true for us, then we must believe that is true for others.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, please reveal to me any woman I might be judging without knowing the facts of her life. Please guide me to reach out to her and get to know her story. Amen.

Written By: Sherry Poundstone

For more from Sherry, check out her website: www.sherrypoundstone.com.

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