"Witch"

She was terrible to work for,

The worse I’ve ever seen,

I’m not exaggerating,

That woman was just mean.

At first I thought she wasn’t,

At first she seemed quite nice,

But she was a mean old lady,

And mean does not suffice.

To describe how bad this woman,

The wicked witch was she,

She kept her broom right in the car,

How awful she could be.

So I went to prayin’,

I thought I’d overcome,

I’d learn, by God, to love her,

By His grace get it done.

But, brother, it was awful,

The devil in my face,

She was so contentious,

Argue right in place.

Lord, please come and change her,

Give me patience, too,

I know that You can do it,

Better hurry, make her new.

But I saw nothing happen,

And then I wanted out,

I wondered if the Lord Himself,

Knew all this was about.

And then the door flew open,

For me to leave that witch,

And buddy I was out the door,

Two minutes to unhitch.

And thank God that He let me,

Find the great relief,

Of not one single minute more,

And that is my belief.

Sometimes God will use you,

To change someone it’s true,

And sometimes you just get to go,

And that can be good, too.

Give love to everybody,

Even those real mean,

Plant seeds of compassion,

Though they may act obscene.

And if the Lord will let you,

You might then get out,

But make sure you don’t do it,

Until you have no doubt.

“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord…” (2 Cor. 6:17, NLT)

We are called to connect with people and share God’s love with them. But some people are dangerous and unsafe. And showing love does not mean we become door mats for them. It does not mean we are called to submit to their bad behavior and put up with their abuse. Forgive them, yes. Be kind to them, yes. But when the time comes we need to separate ourselves from them. Sometimes distance is the only answer, and God will show us when that time comes. If our hearts are right, the Lord will show us when the answer is to be separate. God says that’s okay.

Lord, show when it’s time to separate from unsafe people, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Jamie Means, jamiemeanswesternart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Jamie, and God bless you.