Have you ever tried to get a glimpse inside your neighbors world? While taking your little one trick or treating you go to the door and when 'those' neighbors answers you steal a glance inside. Or when that new family at church pulls up to drop off in front, you check out the type of car they drive and how clean or dirty it may be. Maybe it's when taking your little one to pre-school, you see the happy faces of the families as they drop off their children and imagine what their life is like at home. Do you? Come on, we all do to a certain degree. But what can just a glimpse tell us? Will we get the real picture? The full truth? Or just a snapshot that is shown to thw world? Think about what your glimpse would reveal.
It is easy to judge without knowing the whole truth. The rest of the story. None of us are guilt free. We all make assumptions of one kind or another. Wounds cut the surface but scars run deep. What if we were to know what lay behind that brief glimpse? Would our attitude change, would we be more empathetic, more compassionate? It is hard to know. I wonder though because I was once accused of having had it too easy. I say 'accused', because it felt like an accusation and I believe that it was meant as one. And it hurt. Because that was far from the truth. While my life may have looked easy to some, the truth may have painted quite a different story. The truth went something like this: I was married young, a few short month after we met we were married. Having never lived with a man other than my Father, I found many things about this ne life disturbing. Adjustment was difficult to say the least. Then I became pregnant and raging hormones were added into the mix along with my leaving school, constant morning sicknes, being away from home and my grandmother being very ill. My parents were not thrilled with my choices, I had very few friends, no job and my new husband was working two jobs to support us. But we did have a home, a new baby on the way and we wildly in love. So yeah, it was so easy! The rest is pretty typical, we have certainly had our share of ups and downs, plenty of tears to go along with the laughter and we have been thrown our share of curve balls along the way. Somehow, by the Grace of God, we have made it through. It has not been easy, it never is.
What if everyone carried signs that told of their particular plight? Things like: My husband walked out on me, I am in terrible debt, I live in a shelter, My child is an addict, My baby died at birth, My husband just lost his job, and on and on. How would yours read? We all have a cross to bear. A burden that we wrestle with. Pain. Heartache. Grief. Know this, God does not waste pain. He gives us opportunities. Opportunities to reach out to others, to lessen someone else's pain, to offer hope, compassion, love, and to testify of His unending love for us. Will your heart be revealed?
I know that you have all heard the phrase 'Let go and let God.' Easy to say, much more difficult to do in practice. But try it. Try to give up your worries, realize that you are not in control and that your story was written out for you long ago by He who is in control. So let go, and relax. Take a deep breath and pray. And give it up to Him. You will be amazed at how light you will feel. It is freeing.
And thos glimpses, just look for the signs. They are the only things that you need to worry about.
"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me"
Philippians 4:13
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