"Do I NEED people to like me? No. Not like I NEED to be praised." --Michael Scott, The Office
We all get and give compliments. They're fun to give. They're even more fun to receive. Sometimes they go in one ear and out the other. Other times they inflate our head circumference for a day or two. Sometimes they come in the form of insincere praise or empty chatter.
But not all are an end to themselves. The BEST compliments are the ones that catch us off guard. The ones that don't necessarily feed the fire of vain glory (or any other passion), but touch us deeply and maybe even change our lives.
I want you to share with me, either in the comments below or on your own blog, a compliment you received that touched you deeply. Maybe it awakened a new awareness of God-given gift. Maybe it brought light into a time of darkness for you. Maybe it really was just a polite, run-of-the-mill compliment that was enough to boost your spirits after a trying day. Really though, it doesn't need to be profound.
Take your time to think about it. This isn't necessarily a time-sensitive meme. I guess it makes for some "feel-good" blogging fodder... nothing wrong with that! I'd love to read your accounts. I'll share mine on Friday.
Let me know in my comments box if you wrote about this on your own blog.
7 comments:
Greetings Xenia Kathryn,
This is such a lovely blog! I scrolled down some to look at more of your drawings, all of which were quite captivating. I was thinking about your question, and realized that even though I'm in my thirties now, the compliments that have meant the most to me have come from my own mother (I suppose because she knows me so intimately). About two months ago my dad mentioned casually that the evening before my mom had said to him that I was her hero. The instantaneous boosting effect that off handed comment had on my oft harried life was both dramatic and surprising. H-m-m, very interesting to think about!
"I'm not superstitious, I'm just a little stitious"
Oh wait, that wasn't the question, grin!
I am always humbled by compliments, but the most recent one that impressed me was the sweet note you left on my blog, you are welcome, my friend. Hugs.
My late FIL used to say I had a beautiful smile, and that touched me as well,and is something that I associate with him when I see my youngest grin, as he has the same smile.
Well, I didn't have this told to me, I overheard it between two people talking about me... I wasn't eavesdropping either, they just talk loud, LOL!
"She's such a good mommy, she's so good with her son."
I dunno, it just made me all warm and fuzzy inside!
Just a quick two...
when we are at church and I feel like the boys have been their worst and someone comments to me during coffee hour how well behaved they are... I wonder if they really saw us in church:)
The other is when any of the different therapists that Big P gets to see tell me that I do a great job working with him, calming him down, etc.
I think moms are really hard on themselves (I know I am) and it doesn't make me "proud" when people comment, it just makes me stop to wonder what did I just do that was right?!?!
I've been thinking about this a lot today. But after reading Christina's I would have to agree with her whole-heartedly.
The one for me was when J (who was barely 5) was in Church at my feet, wiggling around for what seemed to be the entire service. As we were leaving that day an older gentleman approached Rdr. James and I and said, "I just love your children. They are so lovely."
After a rough service it is so nice to hear stuff like that and I do believe it is from God. He is giving us a tiny bit of encouragement and love through these people. He knows we need it.
God is Good!!
(what a fun idea!)
Bittersweet compliment: Great Lent 2007 was the first time in three years I was not pregnant or nursing and could really fast (foodwise). I decided to be a little stricter and try to lose some of the 20+ pounds I'd held onto from my two pregnancies. I had lost about 10 pounds and felt pretty good about it. I was holding the door open to church for a little old lady at our church (Fran). She looked me up and down and said, "Oh, honey! You're slimming down!"
Why bittersweet? I had just found out two days before that I was pregnant!! (Not to turn all "meme", but now I've got 30+ pounds to lose. grrr.... If anyone here has good advice on losing that baby weight, especially after a few babies, visit my blog and let me know!)
My husband tells me I'm beautiful even though I just had a baby and I look like a dinner roll that ran into a wall at 40MPH.
That's probably the best compliment ever.
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