A friend was faced with a challenging situation and texted me for encouragement. Not knowing the specifics of the situation, I didn’t want to unequivocably say, “You’re right. Stand your ground no matter what.” I wanted to be supportive and encouraging…but not encourage her to go down a path she wasn’t intended to travel!

Here are a few phrases I texted.

• Be yourself, but don’t expect anyone else to change. Patterns rarely change in a crisis. The impact of how everyone responds usually has ripple effects later.
• God doesn’t expect you to change anyone. That’s his job. He calls you to be obedient. Stand and rest in him. He’ll use you in the process even when you don’t see it. He’ll give you peace even in the chaos.
• Your hope can’t be someone else’s hope. They have to seek and accept hope on their own. It’s one of the hardest things to accept with those we love. Just think of how God feels when we don’t fully accept everything he provides us.

Several days later I searched my phone to reread the texts. God was prompting me to recall them, because I needed to hear them while in my own situation. I believed each and every sentence I texted, so you might think I could also easily live by the advice contained in the texts, but sometimes living by what we believe isn’t as easy as it sounds. Perhaps you’re better at it than I am. (I hope you can handle my honesty.)

What advice have you given lately that you need to give to yourself?

I call it boomerang advice. I must be willing to speak any advice I give into a mirror. I need to cc myself on every text and email I send and subscribe to my own blog and social networking accounts. I’m still not perfect in the process, but I’m growing. I used to listen to myself a lot less, which meant speaking without processing and advising without listening at times. I had to learn the hard way, and I want to spare you some headaches by letting you know if you’re not attentive to what you’re throwing out there for others to catch, it will often boomerang back to you and surprise you with a loud whack. You’ll avoid a lot of bruising if you only throw what you can catch.

Keep an eye on your own advice. You’ll save yourself a lot of headaches and built some trustworthy relationships along the way.

Listen to advice and accept correction, and in the end you will be wise.Proverbs 19:20