By responding in humility, like Jesus would, to those that wrong us, we grow in GODLINESS. That is, we're more and more like Jesus and God.

That humility and godliness will cause us to be alert and begin to spot others who have been hurt. Intuitively we'll spot them, and know how to help them better. So that suffering we have from false accusations enriches us after all, with KINDNESS.

Now we'll be trying to guide these weaker, hurting friends through these very steps to maturity, meaning that we are now reproducing ourselves, which is true LOVE and essence of God Himself.

Have you reached maturity in your character development? Or are you stuck at one of earlier stages? Sometimes, just seeing where you are, relative to where you are headed, can be a big help to get you moving forward again.

Let your light shine ever brighter and brighter!

"Yes," he replied.

Big deal. I put pillow under his head and he was comfortable. He doesn’t know whether I was a nurse or a stranger. It doesn't matter. He felt better and so did I. I helped, BUT why didn't nurses?

I won't settle for that anymore. I can't save world, but I can do my part.

That's letting air out of my balloon, too.

I've learned that when life gets too heavy, it doesn't mean you're WEAK if you admit it. It took a long time for me to get there. Tears don't equate to weakness. They are God's way of allowing you to cleanse your soul. I always had this crazy idea that if you can't handle things, you're weak. That's bologna.

That's what God is for.

So, let air out of your balloon. Cry if you have to. Help if you feel it's needed but are afraid of doing it. Voice a complaint if you have one. Allow yourself to 'be'. Let yourself know that you need to recharge once in a while and accept fact that it's okay to let injustices you see bother you. More importantly, do something about them if you can. Accept that you get tired and need to nurture yourself, too. If you're running around caring for others, know that it's draining and that there's only so much you can take before your balloon starts to fill too much. Don't punish yourself for needing rest. REST. Let go of guilt. Guilt fills balloons very quickly.

If a balloon has right amount of air in it, it's beautiful, light, floating, colorful and vibrant. Just like you. © Ellen M. DuBois