No Judgement Here

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe." Proverbs 29:25

It is so easy to worry about what other people think of us. We often don't do something or keep things a secret for fear of how others may perceive us and our actions. We assume that other people spend far more time passing judgment on us than they do. And we overestimate how negative their perceptions are when they do think of us. Knowing this should make it much easier to stop worrying about what other people think of us. However, it often doesn't make it any easier.

Over the past couple of years, Mark and I have both learned to focus on ourselves and we don't think about how others may perceive us or our actions. We are not living and doing things to impress anyone. We only stive to do our best and to do what is right and good for us and our family. We ask for guidance from God and each other. That is how we roll, plain and simple. We are not worried what others might or do think of us. We choose to share some of our personal struggles and accomplishments with others. If someone feels we are too open, then that is only their opinion, and they are welcome to move on and not read what we choose to share.

Has anyone shared negative comments with Mark or me? Yes, they have, and we disregard them and delete them if you will. Has anyone shared positive comments and experiences with Mark or me. Yes, they have and those are what we love to hear about. This world is full of too much negativity and self-opinionated people. We choose to move past the negativity and egocentric people. We choose to stay in our own lane because that is what both of our programs have taught us to do (Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon). Has something occurred recently that made me speak on this? No, nothing has personally happened recently, but has occurred in the past.

In the past couple of months, we have had a couple different people come either Mark or I asking for guidance, advice, and plain reassurance. The people that have come to us have always made the comment that they are so worried about what other people will think of them or their loved ones if they knew. Our response is simply this, "You need to worry about you and not what others may think of you. You or loved one is choosing to get healthy and if others cannot not see this, then they can move along." During our journey we have come to realize who our friends truly are. Many contacts have been deleted from our phones and our social media and that is ok. This is our life and our journey, and we don't need to answer to anyone else. I so wish that those that are needing help and, in a transition, would realize that the opinions of others are obsolete. They simply don't matter. What matters is that you do things for you, not for anyone else.

Life has been busy this past month. It has flown by. Mark has officially obtained his fishing guide license and has guided several times and really does enjoy it. He will continue to do this on days off from work at the Pasta Plant and we will see what the future brings. For now, it is a nice side gig.

Bailee came home for a week’s visit and we crammed in the memories. I took Kalli, Paislee, and Gunnar with to pick her up at the airport. We headed to the lake from Fargo and spent the weekend with family. Kent, Lyle, and Dale were also there for a weekend of fishing with Mark. Pailsee and Gunnar entertained us all. Paislee especially enjoyed playing Peppa Pig with Kent and Dale. We returned to Carrington after the weekend. We all went the Movie The Sound of Freedom in Jamestown (Bailee, Mark, my mom, me, Beve, and Grace). The movie was very good and heartbreaking at the same time. Bailee, Justine, Kalli, Paislee, Gunnar, and I also were able to spend a day in Aberdeen, SD where we visited Storybook Land. It was a very hot day when we went, and the kids were not able to enjoy the playground equipment like they wanted to as the equipment was too hot to play on. We ate lots of ice cream and Bailee learned really quick how Paislee can be an ice cream hog. We even were able to order Hot Stuff breakfast Pizza when we made a stop in Edgeley. Mark, Bailee, and I headed to Fargo the night before Bailee flew out. We ate and played bingo for a pot of $18,000. Unfortunately, the pot didn't go out and none of us won. The next morning, we dropped Bailee off at the airport and we said our good-byes. Fortunately, it won't be long until we see Bailee again. Mark and I will be meeting up with Bailee and Tristan the end of this month for our much-awaited Alaskan cruise.

I have been busy finishing a project that I started when Kalli was born 17 years ago. I am so proud that I finally finished it and I will share the end results soon. The finishing touches are being put on it and hopefully it will be ready within the next 4-8 weeks. Mark and I continue to go to the lake as often as we can. We are in a couple's fishing tournament this weekend. It is the 10th anniversary of the tournament, and we haven't missed one yet. Despite our busy schedules, we continue to be committed to our routine. We continue to text each other every morning with what we are grateful for, our attitude, and our goals for the day. We continue to read daily out of the AA, Al-Anon, and couple's devotional book. We pray for all the good in our lives and we pray for those in need. I have listened recently to Mark counsel someone and I am in complete awe. Sometimes I must take a double take because I still can't believe he is the same person. He is the man I always knew he could be and so much more.

So, we have no worries as to what anyone thinks of us, and we hope you feel the same. All that matters is you are the best person you can be. It does not matter one iota what anyone thinks of you. You worry about you and pray for those whose pass judgement because they are the ones who are insecure. "See how far you have come. Be proud of yourself. If nothing else, one day, you can look at someone straight in the eye and say: 'But I lived through it and it made me who I am today.'" (web).