Don't Judge Me Just Because My Mistakes Are DIfferent Than Yours

Points To Ponder #2:  Don't judge me just because my mistakes are different than yours

The second Points To Ponder section addresses judgment.  Before sharing the hilarious stories that were submitted by over 40 contributors, I wanted readers to be in the right frame of mind.  It took courage and personal strength to share stories of embarrassment, shame and frustration.  While my book is intended to be funny, it also has a very deep message.  As parents (well even just as human beings), we are constantly looking around at others.  We are creating judgments about others or assuming things of others and then judging ourselves.

The judgment needs to stop.  God created us each differently.  He hand-picked the make-up of who we are.  We all have different strengths and things we are good at.  But, we also each have limitations and things that we are not, and will never be, good at.  It's okay.  We don't have to be perfect.  We don't have to do it.  We don't have to look, act or feel like our friends and neighbors.  We get to be us!  Just our imperfect little selves.

So, if we are not perfect and we can live with that fact, then maybe we will start to realize that other people can't be perfect either.  There are people in the world who will do things that we do not agree with.  That's okay.  People will do things that we would never do.  That's okay, too.  The world goes round because of the differences that exist.  We are lucky to live in a world where no two people are the same.

The thing about judgment that is crucial to remember: we have no idea what is going on in other people's lives.  We cannot effectively judge them because we do not completely know them.  It's not fair to assume things about people around you.  It's not fair not to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.  I know not all people are good- but darn it, most people in the world are doing the best they can with the strengths and limitations they have been blessed with!

Don't judge me just because my mistakes are different than yours.