wounded
My daughter consistently teaches me that perspective is everything when it comes to relationships. Watching her navigate the ins and outs of adolescence, I see a mirror for my own misunderstandings —what I hear is not always what was intended. She finds it easy to understand the heart behind the words coming from friends she trusts. Even the most benign of statements from someone who has wounded her, however, can often become an arrow to her heart.
leave room for God
A TV commercial begins with a boy sitting in a play tree house, taunting a grandma and a baby because he has the family’s bag of Doritos chips, and they don’t. The grandma and the baby conspire to get their share. Cooperating with one another, the grandma slingshots the baby to grab the Doritos. It’s a funny illustration of what’s inside all of our hearts—the desire for justice. Unfortunately, our desire for justice is often illegitimate and mixed with revenge, anger, pride, and very little room for God to work.
weary
I found him wearying. He incessantly “shared” stories of the personal wrongs done to him with anyone who would listen, and frankly, it had become a burden. So I started avoiding him. Yes, I know that’s not what Jesus would do. But it’s what I did.
I know others in far worse circumstances than he—yet they’re a delight to be…
give up
Wildlife officials in my town tried in vain to save a duck that had an arrow sticking through its breast. She flew away whenever their nets came close. It’s hard to blame the frightened fowl. She didn’t understand that the same self-reliance that normally kept her alive was now preventing her from receiving the help she needed.
We are that…
