Don’t check my grammar, check your feelings!

 

 We had one of our semi-regular KC reunions in Makati last week in honor of a friend from Cagayan de Oro. As usual, the talk turned to memories of the camp, which led to another quotable quote from one of my kuyas:

“Don’t check my grammar, check your feelings!!!”

This made me think of something I learned in Educ class. Studies show that parents rarely correct their children’s grammatical errors; instead, they check the “truth value” of what the kids say. For example, when a little girl said “Daddy buyed me a present yesterday,” the mother would just reply “No, sweetie, Daddy bought you a present last week.” She corrected her daughter’s statement about time, not the little girl’s use of the past tense.

I realize that I have been so busy checking the grammar of my life recently, trying to create order out of an unstructured life. Edited the redundant things and proofread the unneccesary words and typos to make my discourse sound and look good. Set deadlines, made to-do-lists, budgeted resources and got caught up in the quest for a life that would follow the rules. Once again, I fell into the trap of focusing on the wrong things.

I’ll skip the grammar and go straight to the heart of the matter. Not just checking my feelings, but reminding myself of my values and His truths.

Here is my Spirit-check:

I want to learn.
I want to teach.
I want to share.
I want to express myself.
I want to live out stories.
I want to be a tentmaker.
I want to be part of small beginnings.
I want to create things of beauty.
I want to belong to something greater.
I want to love and be loved.

I want to know God and enjoy Him forever.