An apology.

Becoming a better person is a long process.  Writing down what I think has actually helped me in this process because I look back and think to myself "Who is this person and why did she write this?" 
So I am going to apologize.  I am sorry if I am ever offensive.  Sometimes the things I think should remain in the glass confines of my shower and not get shared.
A few months ago, I had one of those revelations that left me feeling like I was sadly lacking.  There was a family going through a trial, and from the outside, I judged, and not very kindly at that.  If it had stayed with me, it would have just been a shame.  Instead I talked about it to someone in the presence of my children.  One of my beautiful girls gave some of my helpful suggestions to the mother in this family.  She approached me about it and I was aghast.  Yet I still walked away thinking that I was right, just sorry that I was caught. 
Later I was rehashing it in my head and Heavenly Father spoke words to me that I will never forget.  He said, "You might be right, but I didn't need you to be right.  I needed you to be helpful."  I wasn't and I knew it and I knew that He knew it.  It was one of those times where I have been driven to my knees to ask for forgiveness.
It's such a bad habit of mine, this being right at the expense of kindness and helpfulness.  It's a hard habit to kick because of the dichotomy of it.  Being right isn't bad, is it?  Choose the right and all of that?  I have been given the gift of being able to see the right from the wrong and been told to act accordingly.  And generally, I'm very helpful.  I love being helpful and used.  I just need to find the line that separates pride from unselfishness, cross over it, and keep walking until I am far, far away from anything that hints at judging others. 
I think another thing I need to do is to separate what people say that sets me to pondering, from the people themselves.  I would hate to be judged for what I say, when maybe I wasn't thinking clearly at the time or if it was something I had thought in the past but had gotten over.  In fact, most of the things that bother me tend to fall by the wayside.  It bothers me in the moment that I'm thinking about it, but then life happens and I get busy, or somebody else says something else.  Paramount over all things is that I am not in the position to judge anybody.  It's not my job.  It's not my responsibility.  My job is to stand as a witness of Christ and His church and to be kind and helpful to those around me, from my family to my neighbors to my fellow ward members, etc. 
I'm still going to slip up, because I'm very human that way.  Hopefully I can remember this and the specific counsel I have been given. 
I am truly sorry if I have hurt any one's feelings.  It wasn't my intent, but it is my problem and I apologize.