How to Respond to Comments…especially in touchy situations
In a previous post, I mentioned the ever-increasing amount of negative comments I receive on my blog. I guess that comes with the territory of “putting myself out there” in a public format. I’ve had to learn how to avoid making negative comments even when that might be my first reaction. I’m still a work in progress. However, I have somewhat of a system now on exactly how to respond to comments, negative or not. I’d like to share it with you because you might also find it helpful when deciding how you should reply to people.
It’s often hard to figure out what to say
At times deciding how to respond to comments can be nerve-wracking even when the comments aren’t negative. Sometimes people are hurting and ask hard questions. Occasionally, I receive comments on a previous post, “How to Overcome Feeling Unloved or Unwanted”. Sadly, this post is one of the most popular posts on my website. I say “sadly” because it makes me so sad to know that so many people feel unloved and unwanted. Then again, maybe that’s exactly why God had me write it and why He directs so many people to that page.
It also makes me very sad when I get some of the comments from people still looking for answers because I can almost feel their hurt and pain in their writing. Then, I feel a little scared and overwhelmed knowing that I have to reply to these hurting people to try and give them some answers, encouragement, and hope. It’s a lot of pressure! I actually said to God, “What if I mess them up!?” I honestly feel so completely unqualified at times to help people. In fact, I’ve talked before about making excuses like this with God. They never work. He just tells me to follow his lead and he will instruct me in what to say (Exodus 4:12).
