Wondering about my Wanderings

Critique

Critique is a painful place. We can not do with it and cannot do without it. I had one of my favorite poems rated one star. It helps me understand why some persons refuse to let their items be critiqued at all. What really hurt was that the only comment was that he liked my pros, and did not like poetry in general. The title of the poem was Pleasing God. I left the review feeling humbled and lost.

I continue to get ready for a sermon about listening before you speak, which in essence means that I learn not to put my foot in my mouth. Instead over time I learn who to trust, which in my case is God. I look back over my life and knew about times when I crossed lines and needed to deal with consequences. When a five year old I decided not to clean my room, even if it meant that I might miss out on a time with my grandparents eating out somewhere. I refused to listen and am reminded that in so doing I missed out on a good time.

In my teen age years I decided to flex my muscles by heading out to a muddy swamp with some friends. We were covered in mud as we got back to the backyard camp site. I had often been told not to mess with the backyard water faucet fixture. But this was an emergency and I knew I did not want to wake mom and dad. All ten of us spent time cleaning our clothes to avoid trouble. Then I discovered I could not turn the water off.

In my adult years my wife was pregnant with my second son and we had to travel about sixty miles to Bartlesville. The car had problems along the way. Thankfully a church member got us back on the road and we made it to the hospital just in time for Cindy to give birth.

Critiques are needed for us to grow. Hopefully I will grow from my own unwillingness to want to hear healthy feedback and even feedback that I consider not so healthy. My spiritual health and well being depend on it.