Being grateful for friends who tell the truth even if it hurts

Each Monday, a small group of ladies participate in the meme Sleeping with Bread, started by Mary-Lue and based off the book and on the Friday before that, I post something I call Flashback Friday (today on Saturday) as part of that. The meme is based on the Examen as practiced by St. Ignatius of Loyola with two questions as seen below.

For what am I most grateful this week?

1. Friends who aren’t afraid to tell you the truth: Last winterI worked part-time at a bookstore and while I love books, I don’t love retail. I can’t multitask and too often, no all the time, I would get “flustered” as one of the owners of the bookstore, and a friend of mine, told me this past week. I was e-mailing her on a separate matter when she brought it up in a polite way why I wasn’t asked back to work there.

To be honest, while I won’t lie and say that it didn’t hurt my ego (because it did), I appreciate her telling me the truth even if it came eight months later. I also appreciate she and her boyfriend, the other co-owner, not firing me for my inability to master multitasking. Instead, they just let “the situation” pass with no words spoken, although in my gut, I knew the reason. I am just thankful she confirmed it, so I can move on knowing as she mentioned in my e-mail that I’m not cut out for retail, and to paraphrase Stuart Smalley, I’m okay with that. After all, I’m good enough, smart enough and darn it, people like me.

2. Writing down my dreams as suggested by Chip Ingram in his book Good To Great In God’s Eyes: Ten Practices Christians Have In Common. One of those ten practices is “Dream Great Dreams” and one of the action steps (at the end of each chapter) is to “write on four index cards one sentence that expresses your ultimate lifelong dream in each of these four categories: personal growth; singleness, marriage or family; professional career and church and ministry (p. 96).” Then on the back, you are to list the next three steps you believe you need to take to fulfill your dream and consider you can take immediately” (97).

I did that yesterday, one of the goals which includes this blog, and while I won’t share all of them specifically, I will say that generally that they fit with goals I have discussed here previously in terms of body, mind and soul, the main themes of this blog.

For what am I least grateful this week?

1. Heartburn, but then again who is, right? However, for me, it is more than just heartburn. A few years ago, I suffered from a condition called achalasia, which is similar to acid reflux and for which I had to have surgery. This past week and for the past few weeks, I have begun getting some of the symptoms again, including heartburn. Last night I had such a bad case of it that I was unable to go to the first practice of the season for a men’s chorus to which I belong. My heartburn was so severe that I would have been of no use there.

When I had the surgery, I was told that I might have to have surgery again in a few years, that sometimes that is the case. However, I hoped that it wasn’t true. Now as I have no insurance (I work part-time as a correspondent for a newspaper, but do belong to a program that helps pay for doctor visits and other items), I really hope that it isn’t true.

2. That I only have one thing for which I am ungrateful this week. I know I should be grateful that I don’t,but that I have a blind spot to my own failings is what bothers me. Oh, well, I’m sure, God will show me, or more likely I will stumble upon them, on my own failings this coming week more readily than this past week.

So do you have friends that aren’t afraid to tell you the truth? Are you dreaming big dream? If not, why not? Maybe it is time to dream big. (Don’t worry, I won’t ask you if you have heartburn; hopefully, you don’t ;).

 This post also can be found at my spiritual blog, Journeying with the Saints. If you only are interested in spiritual-related posts, you can subscribe only to that blog, if you so choose.