You Can!

Can you be genuinely happy for another person? Well of course you can. Can you do that and be excited for them & their success without being criticized by others? Maybe. The word "fake" gets tossed around a lot. I used to be one of those people who cringed at so-called "fakeness" or "cheesiness." Now I am just glad that person was "nice." Lol. I've decided that I cannot judge a person's intentions. If they were just being overly nice to butter me up, so be it. I'm not as skeptical as I once was. Maybe that comes from being a teacher. My job requires me to be cheery and smiley on a daily basis whether I feel like it or not. Am I being fake? Or am I just putting on a happy face, letting go of the negative things and focusing on the positive? I'd like to think the latter. No matter what kind of mood I am in, my students deserve me smiling and welcoming them at the door. They deserve a kind word and a hug. They deserve encouragement rather than constant criticism. And even when they don't deserve it, it's my duty to give it to them anyway. After all, for some students, I may be their best hope. It's the ones who seem less deserving of our love & attention that probably need it the most! What do we deserve from God with the way we've acted sometimes? Thank the good Lord above that we don't get what we deserve! Just like we must have grace in parenting, we must have grace with others.
So you're saying it's okay to be "fake" with a child, or as a teacher now, right? Well, I think it applies to everyone in our lives. If you know someone who bothers you with their fake perfectness- can't you see the insecurities in them? Maybe they are just making an effort to be content and thankful in spite of their problems. Maybe they just don't want to open up to you. Not everyone can lay their feelings out for all the world to see.. lol, like myself. I think it's better to appear to be "fake" to someone than to be rude. Why point out their weaknesses or faults? Why not give them grace to change & grow as God sees fit? Why not look for the best in them & help them celebrate that? Why not build people up instead of tearing them down? Be enthusiastic, be kind, be nice, be excited about life.. it's contagious and might just make a difference in someone's life! And if someone wants to criticize you for it or call you "fake" -oh well. Just smile.. because you can.