Compliments

I received two compliments this week which have meant a lot to me. One was that a girl who teaches music went out of her way to tell me that she thought I had a very beautiful voice. That was just nice to hear as I want a beautiful voice. Sometimes I think I have one, yet other times I get stuck on the parts of my voice (or control, tone, vibrations, etc....) that aren't so good. As I am not very involved with music anymore I rarely get feedback on how I sound. So, that was just a nice unexpected compliment.

Secondly, a man who goes to our small group Bible study told me I have the ability to say the perfect thing. Let me explain a little background about why this means something to me. Our discussions within our small group sometimes aren't the best. I naturally talk more, and can easily get caught up in an unimportant discussion dealing with Biblical facts. I've been really trying hard not to do this, as we don't need more knowledge. Our goal is to know God more and connect with the people in the group. Hence, I've been trying to only say stuff which will make someone else's point or fact make more sense to others in the group who could care less. Either that, or ask questions or talk about concerns that can make whatever we are talking about make more sense in the context of our lives. I don't always do the best at this, but I try. I am always very aware of people's body language, tones, or the dynamics going on within conversations. Hence, I often find myself naturally acting as the diplomat, bridging between people from what I perceive is going on. Although I tend to do this automatically, in our small group I've been really making effort to do so in hopes that I make our group better as opposed to worse. Sometimes I wonder if there is any point to all of this, if there is any point to when I am aware of how people are. If there is any point to saying things I hope will start to bring them full circle, connecting with others, God, or understanding themselves more. So when this man spent a little less that five of his minutes to explain to me about how much it helped him when I made comments, it meant a lot to me. He told me how he felt like I understood him and could make what other people said understandable to him. He told me that when I prayed in our small group, it was real to him, it actually made sense and he could agree with it. He said I have a huge gift by being able to understand people and communicate between them. Or something to that effect :). All to say, what he said really was a confirmation to me that I was doing something purposeful. Whether I am just there for people in conversation, getting together with them, studying how people work in books I read and classes I take, and just encouraging others . . . its a good thing! As these things are a major part of my life (most of my life, actually) it was just so nice to hear confirmation that there is a point behind it. Although there is no good definition for what it is that I do, what I do is important. If nothing else, I had the privilege of making one individual more comfortable, feel more loved, and helped Him know God a little bit more.