ripple effect....

anyone not living under a rock has heard the term "ripple effect". you have probably heard it today....so here is my ripple effect. I have always considered myself to be a person with broad shoulders and a strong will. I believe what I believe and there arent many positions I stand upon which I can be persuaded differently. My husband quit trying - before we were even married- my parents know Im strong willed, and my brother just likes to get me fired up. But what happens when I change my opinion of something I have stood solid on for most of my life? The ripple effect can have consequences far beyond measure. I changed my mind sometime recently about how I choose to spend my time and who I spend it with. It has been an evolutioary process at best- not over night as most of my rash emotional decisions are. I quit calling the people who dont call. I quit going to lunch with people who dont have a positive or nice thing to say. I quit worrying about what others think or say about me. I just prayed and decided God can deal with them- why should I? He is going to anyway, so me trying to handle all these things was kinda redundant. The ripple this time was mostly good- not jsut for me but for my husband , my children and my remaining friends. I do not need drama in my life to sustain me. I do not need my phone lines and email accounts jammed with obscenities about other people. I put a stop to it all. and Im feeling free as a bird! With every positive reaction, there prolly has to be a negative one, right? Well, I did lose a family member in this whole process, actually more than 1. And that is very hard for me to work through. But I also feel like in time that too will be resolved and I have to let that go for now. God will take care of this in his time, nto on my clock, and I know that to be true. And my children have watched their mother "clean house" once again, in a very important lesson. Im hoping this ripple effect keeps going.. that somehow my actions will "pay it forward" in the lives of others who notice and are really paying attention. As for the scoffers out there... sorry if I hurt your feelings but, Im just not coming around anymore!