Recently I had someone apologize to me. This may have been one of the lamest attempts at an apology I’ve ever heard. It was one of those, “If I’ve done anything to offend you” apologies. I hate these kinds of apologies! They are such a cop out! You know you offended me! This way you get to apologize without really accepting responsibility for your actions or acknowledging the fact that what you did was wrong. So, all while this person was apologizing, I was praying asking the Lord to give me what to say because I knew that my response would be the thermostat that set the climate of our conversation. I could either “GO OFF” and give this person what I felt they deserved, which probably would have resulted in some cuss (yea I said cuss, not curse) words and somebody hanging up midstream or I could listen and try to meet this person where they were. In doing this, I realized that this was really the best this person could do. The fact that they were making an attempt to apologize at all, I’m sure was a big step for them. A beautiful woman of God, Jackie Flowers, told me one day “Honey, you are a thermometer not a thermostat. You have got to set the atmosphere around you, not just display the temperature.” That was so profound to me! As much as I wanted to let this person HAVE IT! It just wasn’t in me. It would not have shown her, the Real Woman she was dealing with, nor would it have made the situation any better. Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes I wish it was in me to bust (yes I said bust not burst) some car windows, slash some tires, and cuss yo’ *ss out! (Gotta be real about it!) But honestly, that just isn’t the woman that God created me to be. My mom taught me that you never let another person have so much control over you that they push you to get out of character and you never let them see you sweat. As hard as it may be sometimes you have to “meet people where they are”. I am proud of myself, I was able to genuinely accept her apology and “keep it movin’!”
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