dailydatewithgod

There was a time in my life when a request would be made of me and I thought I had to respond yes or no right away.  I felt responsible for giving an answer, even if I did not yet know.  It seemed to be part of the same structure of my life where I felt I had to know things I did not know.  I wanted to be the one people had no problems with.  I wanted to be approved of and if you were waiting on me to have an answer, you might be disappointed.  Unfortunately, it would backfire on me because I would say yes too quickly and then realize I committed to something I did not want to be committed to.  Then came the white lies to squirm out of it or running the risk of really disappointing the other person by not being able to follow through.  Strangely I did not hold the same standard for others when I made requests of them.  I saw others take time to consider their options, ask to get back to me, or let me know when they would be able to provide an answer.  These are things I learned in recovery.  It is what gets reinforced on my daily dates with God.  It is flexing the pause button so when I need to be strong, the musculature is there. When I take the time to pause and consider my heart’s response to a request, I am more likely to provide a response connected to the truth of who I am.  My head will present an answer right away.  It takes courage and patience to utilize the tool of consideration.  However, when I enact the courage of my heart to consider the perspective of my heart, my head has to work much less to come up with ways to squirm out of something I may have misleadingly said I was willing to commit to.