Harmony...

I wonder if Stacy will kill me when she returns from the DR and finds out that I have spent the week talking about her?!
I want to use this time to share different traits I have seen develop in her that I think are key to becoming a woman of influence and a wise woman in general.

Today it's harmony. I became aware of her ability to live in harmony with others when she turned 30. I knew she was easy to get along with before then, but for her 30th birthday her friends held an all-day 'open house-scrapbooking day' in honor of her. Her friends were encouraged to stop by and greet her, stay and scrapbook, or just pop in and out.

There was a steady stream of friends all day. What was most impressive was the variety of friends that stopped by. Some were single, some married, some with kids, some without. There were older friends and younger friends. Friends from her past and friends she had just recently met.

I made a point to mingle and ask many different friends: "How long had they known Stacy?" "What did they enjoy most about their relationship with her?" "When did they spend time with her?"
The responses were varied but everyone had a story to tell of how Stacy had 'blessed' their life in some respect.

I think a woman who is growing in the Lord and in her personal life blossoms as she applies 1 Peter 3:7-9 to her relationships:
"... live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as sisters, be compassionate and humble." (I changed brothers to sisters!)

Stacy is developing a habit that many women never even consider in life. A habit of living in harmony with one another.
I know from experience that living in harmony doesn't just happen. I burned many bridges when I was her age, thinking I needed to be 'right' or 'prove a point' or 'have it my way'.

How does she live in harmony with so many different kinds of friends and acquaintances? By being compassionate and humble...and that is what she is doing this week in the Dominican Republic. She is giving up her time and energy and vacation, to learn how to serve others with compassion and humility...and that is why she can live in harmony with one another on a daily basis.

Living in harmony isn't a personality trait...it is an intentional habit that a wise woman develops with God's leading.