Difficult Mail

I feel like my heart was just ripped out of me, thrown to the ground, jumped on repeatedly, ground into the dirt like a cigarette butt, and then picked up and given to me like nothing happened.

Why is this you ask? Amidst the wonderful Christmas cards today in the mailbox, there was a letter from a friend of ours that caused this pain. It is by far the most direct criticism and pointed assault and on our ministry we've received to date (and we've received some pretty hard letters in the past). The tone was very harsh and aggressive. It's message was an attack on our calling. Instead of being encouraged, this letter has ripped not only mine but also my wife's heart to shreds tonight.

The way I feel loved is through words of affirmation. Sometimes it's difficult to keep going getting mail like this that just degrades everything you've been putting your heart into for the last few months. Words can build up, but they can also tear down. Tonight as of right now, I feel like we're going to be doing a lot of rebuilding in our household.