stupid log

Still in Nashville. We are headed home today.

Yesterday morning we were sitting outside on the porch and I was asking how to handle a person in my life.

One, I have a friend who I feel lies almost constantly. I get this feeling when I'm listening to her talk that just sets off bells inside my head. Actually the feeling is more like an antennae stands straight up, bends over in her direction and goes, beep beep beep beep beep beep, and it takes every ounce of strength in me to not say BOLOGNA while she is talking. Seriously, the feeling is that strong.

I asked Anne and Mendy what I should do. They didn't have an answer. Mendy said something about not judging so harshly. Which of course offended me a little. Is it the bad kind of judging when everything inside of you goes - stop talking because I know you are lying? Tell me the truth? It would be the easiest thing to just walk away from the person. I have an idea that is what most people would do.

Anyway, this morning I was doing my usual reading and I came across a couple of entries that I thought would help me explain this situation - maybe even help with a solution. So I started to write a letter to Mendy and Anne so that I wouldn't forget to tell them. By the time I got to the end of the letter I realized that I shouldn't send it to them because I needed to hear what I was saying, they didn't.

Here's the letter:

Remember the question I asked you two about how to handle the woman, who I feel lies most of the time?

Well, just now, during my reading, I came across a story about judging the 'thing' and not the person.

Which actually explains my worry better than I did.

I still want to love this woman, and be in her life, since she seems to want to be in mine, but when that little beeper goes off in my head about what she is saying . . . I want to be able to gently find a way to stop her.

So, instead of 'judging' her (like it is a bad thing) I'm wanting her to realize she doesn't need to lie. Instead of just walking away from her, which would be the easiest, I want to figure out how to make her stop.

Which brings me to another entry I read. Some people are called to preach the gospel and others are called to live it. So, maybe, I'm one of those who are called to live it (since I certainly can't preach) so just by hanging around her maybe she'll see you can be interesting just by living without adding to your stories?

Oh my gosh, I'm in trouble now. I add to my stories all the time. I don't call them lies I call it being silly.

Argh!

Seriously, I'm not lying to decieve anyone, I'm lying to make them laugh. My lie is transparent, and everyone sees the silliness, but it is still a lie! Why let something like that come out of me?

Writing that letter forced me to see the 'don't worry about the splinter in your neighbors eye when you have a log in yours'.

How do I quit talking?