Monday, January 26, 2009

TOTALLY MISUNDERSTOOD!

DO YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF MISUNDERSTOOD?

Sometimes, I think people misunderstand me. I don't mean for that to happen. But it does.

I have a total OCD personality which means I over analyze when it comes to order, details and information. To some this sounds like a welcomed trait but to others, it comes across as being bossy, taking control, a total ms. "know it all".

I am totally misunderstood sometimes.

Recently, this happened to me. I said some things, with the greatest of intent in my heart to "help" alleviate possible messiness down the road.

But I was totally misunderstood.

Instead of helping, it appeared I made things worse. Being OCD isn't always what it is cracked up to be! I blame it on my former Executive Assistant days. When I was an assistant to a VP at my former job...it was a good thing that I was overly compulsive with details.

They actually paid me to organize details, look for detours around problems and predict what needed to be trouble-shooted. It is no wonder I have the tendency to try to fix a problem, predict outcomes and look for damage control ideas.

So what can a OCD gal like me do when I am misunderstood?

Well the first thing to remember if you are anything like me is this...You are how you are because God made you that way!

So if you are reading this and you have misunderstood me in any way ...I apologize. I don't apologize for how God made me but I apologize that something I did or something that I said caused a misunderstanding. Look beyond my actions, my words and see into my heart.

Jesus was also misunderstood.

Those around Him clearly did not look into His heart or else He would never have been misunderstood!

WHO JESUS WAS clearly was misunderstood....
"Are you the king of the Jews" (Mark 15:2) ~HE WAS!

HIS PURPOSE was clearly misunderstood...
"Therefore when they had come together, they asked Him, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6) ~HE DID!

THE POWER of Jesus was misunderstood...
"But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, 'Why could we not cast it out?' " (Mark 9:27,28) ~BECAUSE HE FASTED AND PRAYED!

THE REASON FOR HIS PASSION was misunderstood...
"For He taught His disciples and said to them, 'The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.' But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him." (Mark 9:31,32) ~HE WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT WAS TO COME!

In the darkest hour, when Jesus took the sins of the world on Himself upon the cross, He was alone and He was misunderstood.

In fact, He is still misunderstood by millions today!

If you find yourself like me, misunderstood by some...remember that Jesus knows exactly what you are going thru, and you can turn to Him for help.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE MISUNDERSTOOD

1. Check your actions ~ seek Gods direction and make sure your actions and reactions are pure.

2. Hold your tongue ~ the first thing you will be tempted to do when misunderstood is to defend yourself. Hold your tongue until you have spent time in prayer and if at all possible do not phone or email someone while angry. Seek God and then follow His lead. Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing to do.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT...
Glad I could get this misunderstanding cleared up!

8 comments:

Beth in NC said...

Hi Laurie, I could work on the HOLD YOUR TONGUE suggestion. Oh my goodness! I felt like I blew my testimony out of the water the other day with my sister. She pushed and pushed until I finally said something I regretted. Sigh.

On a brighter note -- you have two awards to pick up from my blog!

Love,
b

Anonymous said...

this is very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very true! i live with this woman and this post was the most truthful one yet! her ocd sometimes gets annoying but it helps in the end....most of the time i love you momm

Melanie said...

I love this post, Laurie! I, too, feel that I am misunderstood at times. I've been working the last couple of months to turn that over to God and remember that I am who I am because that is the way God made me! Special!

Anonymous said...

Oh, thank you very much sister. I always can not control my tongue when i am misunderstood. I always do something to confirm the real fact but it keeps going worst. Jesus is also misunderstood many times, but He knows how to manage it. I need to learn more.

Laura said...

Laurie,

I think sometimes that comes with the territory for pastor's wives. We try to be helpmates to our husband and his ministry and try to be all things to all people, and, unfortunately, sometimes people take us for being bossy or trying to do it all. We're not...in fact sometimes we're wishing more people would help out so we didn't have to be involved in so many things... But, I know your motives are pure and you are a great help to many. It sounds like you handled it great, and I'm glad you can focus on Jesus and his example. Love you!

Laurie Ann said...

Being misunderstood is something we all struggle with, I believe. I can say something to one friend and she totally won't get it, but the other gets it right away. Personalities differ and one of the greatest reasons of misunderstanding is because tone can't be read in email or blogland.

Great post, Laurie, and awesome tips on checking ourselves. Very inspiring and encouraging.

Jennifer said...

I know exactly what you are talking about, Laurie. I have found myself in those situations more times in my life than I care to remember. I have made a sharp right turn over the past 5-6 years and now...I just keep my mouth shut, which is the exact opposite of what I used to be. The bad thing about that is when I do this it takes a lot of prayer and work not to become offended yourself when you've been "attacked" for being misunderstood. Then, when you refuse to say anything...you tend to get misunderstood again. I have come to terms with most of it because you can't and won't please everyone all the time.

As long as I check my heart and my spirit before God and He is pleased with me...that's all I need.

Thanks for this wonderful post.

((hugs))
Jenn

Lori said...

Thank you for this post, enjoyed reading it. And I know exactly what you are talking about.

Blessings.