At our Weight Watchers® meeting this week, a gal was sharing that a waiter hurt her feelings when he questioned her decision to order a smaller portion from the children’s menu.  It wasn’t that he didn’t ALLOW it but rather he took it upon himself to question her as to whether or not the portion size would be enough food for her.  It has really bothered me all week.  I felt so sorry for the gal but then I shared one of my very favorite quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt….

“No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”

She was doing what was  best for her and her weight loss journey.  It wasn’t up to the waiter to decide what or how much she should consume.  Hence, the quote – “no one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”

But then I thought about the waiter.  We look at him as being insensitive.  Maybe he didn’t mean to be insensitive or maybe he did!  But think about how many times we have done or said something that came across insensitive or rude (maybe we meant it or maybe we didn’t).  A lot of times hurting people hurt people.  But we must always go back to the scriptures.  Ephesians 4:32 says “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

We need to always be kind and act with a tender heart.  Then remember that those we are interacting with also have tender hearts.  And when others are insensitive to us, we must forgive and move on because every day we find ourselves insensitive to God and He continues to forgive us.

Does it still hurt?  Yes!  Do you still want to smack someone in the head?  Absolutely.  But when we merge the quote, “no one can make you feel inferior without your permission” along with the scripture, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” we can move forward in our everyday life with kindness in our heart and a spring in our step.

(Watch out scales…. the numbers are comin’ down!!)