Last night we had a couple encouraging us and saying how naturally warm and welcoming we are to the people around us.

I was taken back in my mind to a moment in life where I would have never received such a compliment. One particular day stuck out — a teeth cleaning day at the dentist to be exact. My dental assistant was a lady by the name of Jenny. She had previously worked under me for some time in a different occupation. We got to reminiscing about old work and at some point I had posed a question resembling, “Do you miss it?”. Her nose crinkled and with no hesitation she blurted out, “No! You are the meanest person I have ever worked for in my life…” Her posturing told me she was serious, but I still waited for the “just kidding” or “I’m teasing”; it never came.

I was a monster. At that time, in some confused way I don’t fully understand today, I was proud of that moment. Looking back, I’m so sad for the people that I may have hurt.

So that compliment I mentioned, it wasn’t the words themselves that encouraged me so much as the realization that I have changed so much since a time past. I look back on a younger me and say, “what was wrong with me?” God is still molding and making me into something great. It’s a reminder to not stop changing and continue striving to be more Christ like.

I hope that in five or ten years from now as I continue to grow, I can look back on the me today and still say, “what was wrong with me then?” Thank you to the people in my life now who give me grace as I change.