When I was little and would spend the weekend with my grandma, she liked to watch this show called, 'To Tell the Truth." The premise of the story was that 2 or 3 impostors and one "real" person would sit on a panel and answer questions from a panel of judges who would then determine who the "real" person was.
Each judge would guess who they thought the real person was and then the host would say, "Will the real __________ ______________ please stand up?"
What in the world does that story have to do with the price of tea in China?
It's this. I think depending upon circumstances, personalities, events, outcome of events, etc., we are all viewed by different people in different ways. The pastor at a church I attended often told a story about a friend that he'd had a falling out with, and how he was fairly sure that particular friend didn't think he was godly, or kind, or loving or any of the other qualities that others ascribed to him.
And yet pretty much anyone else who knew him well at all thought he was one of the kindest, most loving and godly men they'd ever met. So how do you explain that the same man was thought of completely differently by different people?
Same man. Different perspective.
Like I said, we are all different people to someone. And yet, we are the same person at our core. And it's what's at our core that matters.
Most assuredly there are going to be people in my life that are not in my fan base. (Just read my comments occasionally and you'll see that!)
And there will be people in my life that love them some Carol Jones.
And I must be careful not to too heavily buy into either opinion. I cannot totally judge who I am by what others would say about me, good or bad.
I have to daily remind myself that God is the only One who really knows the real me. And He is the only One who can accurately judge my character.
All that to say, someday the real Carol Jones will stand before a Holy God who has seen me live, mess up, get it right, grow and change, and He'll know that the real Carol Jones is standing before Him. Because He knows me the best.
I love you Carol Jones and I love that in reading your blog I am encouraged to be the best Leslie Sockwell I can be. Not in my own power because I know from experience how that works out, but you encourage me to keep my eyes on the One who knows me and always has my best interest at heart. Carry on, Carol Jones, carry on.
ReplyDeleteWell, my goodness. After reading this post, I did some stalking (if I own it, it's not creepy) and read the comments in some of your earlier posts...yikes. I mean, yikes. From the negative comments to the positive ones, what struck me and saddened me the most was that there appears to be a lot of folks out there who feel that they have the right to judge the life of Carol Jones. And for some to do it under the auspices of "anonymous" instead of coming to you directly, and on a completely vulnerable and exposed thing such as a blog, I am sorry.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for the toxic words that have been spoken to you, on such a private forum, and in such a hateful way. Lately, what has generally caused me the most angst in my soul about our short journey on this earth, is the suffering that we as humans heap on one another, and even greater than that, the suffering and pain that we as Christians place upon others who do not fit into our "box" of how we think life should look, or who do not meet the expectations that we have unknowingly laid over their heads, as a measurement of their life. My goodness. Thank you for your honesty in these blogs, Carol. I know how incredibly exposing that must be. And, a lesson that I hope to take into my own imperfect, frail, and faulty life, is to judge not. We are here for such a fleeting moment; our days are too numbered to spend them in hatred. I prefer love. I am inspired and encouraged by your quest for the same.
Love you, mean it.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYour posts are more revealing than you even intended. Exposed for all to see is a vengeful and bitter heart, driven by an insecurity that is pitiable. If you cannot work out your hurts one on one and feel compelled to publicly demean somebody, at least use your name. Thank goodness His grace is sufficient for us all. We all need it!
Carol, I love you!
Melanie
Carol - When you write about sin, you write about yourself. When you write about heroes, you write about others. That strikes me as a person who is obeying what our Teacher told us about specks and logs. I think a lot of people could benefit from the courage and Christlikeness of your example.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous~
ReplyDeleteGo to Carol Jones personally, and lay out how she has hurt you personally. Otherwise, you are as guilty as anyone of spreading gossip, and hurting people with hateful words.
For as long as I have known Carol, and that has been about twenty years now, she has owned her weaknesses, worked on her character flaws, and pursued Christ with passion.
I am sorry if she has hurt you. If you know about her hurting others, that must be because you discussed it with them… and not Carol.
Carol Jones… let the Lord be your defense.
I love you and am proud to be your friend.
~Becky Jackson
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
It is incredibly clear that I have hurt you, deeply, and for that I am deeply, deeply sorry. I simply can say it no other way. I am sorry I have hurt you. I don't even have to know who you are to be sorry, because it makes my heart feel sorrowful to know that I am capable of such hurt.
And I imagine you are correct. I have probably hurt a lot of people in my life. Some deeply. Some in such a way that they might not ever forgive me. And those actions do indeed grieve Our Father. He and I have discussed them at length.
I am trying to be the woman God wants me to be. I get it wrong, often. But when I do get it wrong, I do what I know to do. I go to Him. I confess it. I seek forgiveness. And He gives it.
As for my brokenness, only God knows the condition of my heart. He knows the feelings I have had in all of this. He knows the depths of sorrow I have felt, and all the many other emotions that have come as well.
To my other friends, readers, commentors: Thank you for your encouraging words. I love you too.
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI am a counselor, and therefore cannot leave my name. I am not remaining anonymous out of cowardice, but out of the need to respect my practice and those who come to me.
I don't know Carol Jones. I just found her blog through a friend.
But I do know that you are very hurt and very angry. And reading this blog every day is a choice for you. A choice that will only continue to stir up your anger, never allowing you the freedom you will someday want and need. You can and should just as easily choose not to ever come back to this blog again. It would be the healthiest thing you can do for yourself.
OK, Carol Jones. The next time you see me on the street, you better run over and give me a hug or I just might say something ugly about you being rude, or ungodlike, or some other obnoxious thing for everyone to read about and decide whether or not to believe. I mean it! I'll do it! (yeah, right) Puh-leeez! Let he without sin cast the first stone...
ReplyDeleteDebbie Jackson