"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."~Mother Theresa
As many of you know, my sister JM, is pregnant with her first child. This child was conceived and will be born out of wedlock. One of the biggest obstacles that she has had to go through is facing what people have thought or said to her as a result of her action. Now, I know that no one is perfect and there will ALWAYS be people judging but I would at least expect that people at church would be a little more understanding. I want to share this conversation to you because sometimes we think before we speak and by doing that, it can really hurt others feelings.
A couple Sundays ago JM had gone to our family ward (not the singles) and most people knew her situation and gave comfort and support which I am grateful for. But there was one woman in particular who thought she was being supportive by asking JM what she was going to do with the baby and when JM asked her what she meant the woman said, "You should look into LDS social services." JM explained that she was keeping the baby. Then the woman retorted by saying, "Well, there are a lot of deserving parents out there who could love your baby and give her what she needs and who could be blessed because of your mistake!" JM's jaw dropped. It's frustrating for me to see my sister go through this. But this the choice she made. I cannot judge her or anyone else because of the choices they have made. I regretfully say that I have judged before and have been very prideful in thinking, "thank goodness that's not me!" But the more I've grown the more I've realized that we tend to judge others from their behavior and we tend to judge ourselves from our intentions. I meant to do this...If I had more time I would...I intended to... I just hope that I can continually strive to become nonjudgmental and/or prideful.
