Enough With the Dramatics!

Have you ever been around people who like to create drama? Aye-yi-yi!! I find it to be very exhausting. I used to be like this, always offended or mad at someone about something, no matter how insignificant that something may be. I honestly think the need to create drama stems from confidence issues--like I am so threatened by someone that I have to be mad at them for something they said or did.

I remember being this kind of person and not liking my response to things, or the way people acted/reacted around me. I tend to be outspoken and over-confident to begin with, so people are naturally drawn to my personality-type. But it's really easy to use my influence for negativity rather than positivity (is that a word?). After my divorce I really set my mind on being a more positive person, looking for as many good things as I could find bad things. This is very hard for me to do. I tend to be a very detailed-oriented person, and am very quick to find things that need to be fixed. I think that's why I like working with our marching band so much, I get to help clean things up and fix the overall picture and sound.

Anyway...because I tend to see the negative before the positive, I have to really work hard when I am around negative people. I'll tell you what--that is a true test of character right there! If I am not careful, I fall right into the same mind-set, trash-talking and complaining. I constantly have to ask God for strength and remind myself that I could possibly be the only light in that situation. I don't want to have to wonder if my comments or reactions are going to come back in hit me in the face.

I think God puts me in situations like this to grow my character. The questions is: am I willing to allow my character to be strengthened?