Stones Will be Thrown

… ouch! ‘That hurts!’

There is no ‘if’, ‘but’ about it, purely a matter of when the stones will be thrown. Harsh criticism, unjustified outbursts, abuse and insults, unwarranted comments, lies, false stories about us etc, are all ‘stones’

Stone throwers throw stones, that is what they do, that is what they know to do. Some are perpetual throwers, others are occasional throwers, whilst others are accidental throwers.

When stones hit us they hurt and sometimes they hurt terribly and we are in pain for hours, days, months or even years. The length and duration of our pain depends largely not on the force or size of the stone, or even the size or person of the thrower but on how we nurse and cater to the wound. Some get it all cleaned out, well disinfected, bandaged and move on with life. They change the dressing as and when required, they speak right and try not to focus attention on the wound and when they are not looking, total healing and restoration takes place.

Others, in their minds, mull, deliberate, ponder, consider, recount and go over again and again the incident that lead to the stone throwing, they recount the incident in all its full flavour to all and any that cares to listen and even to uninterested parties. They pick, unpick and inspect the wound, removing the dressing at every opportunity. They actually leave the wound exposed so that all can ask ‘what happened?’ The gory details then commences and they wonder why they never heal.

Some try to avoid stone throwers altogether but this is truly impossible, the title is not written on the forehead. Some by their deeds are already known, others operate by the stealth and silence of a cat, throwing the most damaging stones. Whilst others are like sleeper spy, you don’t even know they exist as stone throwers, they could even be close family or friends.

The truth is, offences will come, stones will be thrown and there is already a ‘woe’ on the thrower. The question is what do we do, when it hurts? It will hurt, we are human, but we are wise to shorten the pain by not ruminating on the offence and move on with the positive trajectory of our life. Life is for living and living the abundant life, not trying to question and reason what turns an otherwise sane, loving and rational person into a stone thrower. Some have always been a stone thrower but we did not know as they were ‘sleeper throwers’.

Be good, nurse your wound, live life to the fullest. It is all good!