#30DaysOfThanks Day 20: Maturity means ...

I had the most wonderful conversation today with a new friend. We were discussing life changes and what has come with them. There were more changes that had occurred than she had ever imagined and we were discussing how she had handled them. It was an involved conversation. 

We went over situation after situation and always brought the conversation back around to the positive. What's lovely about working through life's rough stuff isn't just the outcome, it's the process. What the process brings us is sometimes more valuable than the outcome. Through it, we learn so much with regard to ourselves and how we respond to life's challenges. We have the opportunity to develop our decision making, argument skills, and our discernment. 

With maturity comes the understanding that not every statement or action deserves a response. My friend and I chatted about this and she said something I'll never forget. "A lot of times when we respond to the inevitably mean and purposefully hurtful junk, it somehow validates it or condones it." ISN'T SHE BRILLIANT? 

Understand that you aren't required to respond to the mean and dirty things that people say. Don't give people the satisfaction of knowing that they got to you. Hold your head up with grace and dismiss evil like the insignificant thing that it is. You deserve a productive life and there will always be a force that works against you. But if you fight against the evil force with your dedication to live a grace filled life, you'll chip away at space it's (evil) allowed to fill in your heart.

Tell evil to take that fuss on the bus. #BYE