Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. You’ll receive the same judgment you give. Whatever you deal out will be dealt out to you. Why do you see the splinter that’s in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye? How can you say to your brother or sister, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ when there’s a log in your eye? You deceive yourself! First take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5
A few days ago an older man stopped me in the grocery store today to ask how tall I was. When I told him, he (no joke) said, "Dang. You have a hard time finding a husband?' I plastered a smile on my face and said ‘Nope!’. I walked away, with him shaking his head in disbelief.
Two things immediately crossed my mind.
I can’t believe he actually said this to my face.
Quickly followed by, Yes, I can.
Here’s the deal. My height was a pretty easy way for kids to make fun of me when I was younger. I slouched through my teens. My drivers license still says that I’m 5’11”. I’m, in fact, 6 feet tall and have been since I was 17. The number of times I heard, ‘Good luck finding a date taller than you!, is insane. My self esteem issues growing up centered around my height. Some of them are still hanging in my brain, but most have been banished by the fact that God loves me, and that a significant other does not fully define me.
That moment in the grocery store was a reminder to me that there are lots of things we’re taught that should be untaught. Lots of things we think are ok to say to each other that should not come out of our mouths. Our words speak loudly, and are often not kind - in public and in our homes. It’s been taught, generationally and now through social media, that staying something like this to someone you don’t know in a grocery store is OK. Interactions like this are not how God intended us to be in community together.
One of my deepest wishes for young tall girls is that they stand tall and don’t slouch. That they hold their head high and love who they love, regardless of height. That this ridiculous old way of thought be left in the past.
I still hesitate when I find a pair of shoes that makes me taller than my husband, but these days, I buy the shoes.
Written By: Abby Johnson