The qualified disqualification

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose
Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Before I got to campus, I had never been out of my parents’ loving care and when I was, I was with my church friends on a church mission in a school or a church. Basically, all I knew was home and church. Then I got to campus and it didn’t even remotely feel like it was the same planet. The new discoveries, the new people, the new lifestyle was much more than a small-town church girl could handle (Thinking back, I was honestly naïve. Lol!). At this point, the partying started and the night-outs and everything in between. (Interestingly, my grades were consistently up during this whole period. See God!). Needless to say, by the end of my second semester, your girl was about to have a baby.

Often, I sit and think, this was the universe getting me to just slow the heck down! (cosmic humor of sorts) All these experiences and more later brought me to the point where I didn’t feel worthy to give anyone any kind of ‘advice’ or whatever. I’d done it all and so that made me part of the very thing that I’d discourage someone from. It almost felt hypocritical. I felt that how I lived my life disqualified me from warning someone else against how they lived theirs. It made perfect sense. Didn’t it?

It actually made sense but my perspective was way off. I remember hating listening to people who hadn’t walked the road I was on telling me “the three things” I should do to get my life back on track. Giving advice that wasn’t what I’d want to hear. At best, they were giving impractical theoretical advice about a topic they know nothing about. At its worst, they may be jeopardizing my situation further my proposing things that will backfire horribly! Things like these are the very reason I began this blog; to give experienced insight. Then guess what? The very thing I thought disqualified me, qualified me!

A story is told of two sons with a drunkard for a father. One son became a heavy drinker like his father or worse but the other never tasted alcohol in his life. The one son was asked “Why do you drink so much?” and the other was asked “Why don’t you drink at all?”, and they each answered “Because I saw my father drinking.” Difference? Perspective! And isn’t that what happens in our lives? We unconsciously bury ourselves in the silent guilt of a past life, a destructive bad habit or an unspeakably regrettable event to the point that we don’t see ourselves worthy to say anything when we see someone fall into the same trap? But in truth, you’re the very person who should speak up because the other option is to let the next inexperienced fellow repeat the baseless information he read in a book.

My past lifestyle made me feel disqualified yet it’s the very thing that qualified me. So what is your qualified disqualification?