"Jonathan Toomey seldom smiled and never laughed. He went about grumbling and muttering and sputtering. He wasn't an old man, but if you saw him, you might think he was, the way he walked bent forwards with his head down. The village people didn't know it, but there was a reason for hs grumbling, a reason why he walked hunched over, as if carrying a great weight on his shoulders. Some years earlier, when Jonathan Toomey was young and full of life and full of love, his wife and baby had become very ill. And, because those were the days before hospitals and medicines and skilled doctors, his wife and baby had died three days apart from each other."
We don't know what others have lived through. We often don't know what circumstances they live with now. It is easy for us to be irritated or offended by a mean or grumpy person. Or worse yet, to be angered or filled with hatred and bitterness by a bully or someone who has wronged you. Wouldn't it change many a perspective if we could see what God sees...the whole story. If we could understand where that grouchy old man who lives next to us has been, maybe we wouldn't be so quick to wish ill upon him. Maybe we would respond to his brusqueness with a smile instead of our usual mutterings under our breath. Since we can't possibly know who feels so hurt and unloved as to lash out, perhaps if we showed kindness and love to all we encounter throughout the day, we may unwittingly warm a frigid heart.
As a waitress in a family-style restaurant many years ago, I recall a day when a very elderly man came in inquiring as to the price of one of our pies. After quoting the price to him, he launched into a barrage of screaming about the exorbitant prices of our baked goods, colored by not a few expletives. His accent was strange to me and as he lifted his arm to rant and rave at me, I caught sight of the number tattooed on his arm. Immediately, my perspective of this man changed. Not that his behavior was excused, but I suddenly had a glimpse, however small, into what it must be like to be this man, to have lived this life. I hope that I will always consider the whole story before I even say a word...
Gratitude List
11. cupcakes
12. advent wreaths and devotions
13. Christmas carols
14. snow...it is snowing beautifully now as I type this
15. iceskating on the lake
16. when my children laugh and play together
17. candles softly glowing on a dark winter's night
18. sitting in front of the fire
19. reading a good book
20. when that same book inspires you to be a better person
No comments:
Post a Comment