Everyday life has a way of absorbing the periphery. By that I mean I can often be myopically engrossed in the pace of my day and miss the world around me. Since I last logged in to the blogosphere a couple of weeks have come and gone. I went on a road trip with my husband to visit friends in Mariposa. Submitted an article. Had a couple meetings. Finished some PR. Took a flight to Shreveport, LA to hang out and watch the Super Bowl with friends. Ate A LOT. Wrote a little more. Flew home...
In that amount of time, among many other highs and lows of those I know and love, 2 extended family members passed, an awesome teenager received a perplexing diagnosis and a dear friend's illness had decided to return. In addition, an old acquaintance made a bewildering confession and I was contacted via FB with additional unexpected and unfortunately heavy news regarding someone I knew once upon a time...
Today I am pondering the reality of the ebb and flow of life. The reality that while one of us may be rolling along with life as usual (taking road trips...meeting deadlines... flying about) others - some who we know intimately - some we simply know of - may be confronting life altering events that make life as usual no longer an option - and it got me thinking...
How does God's directive in Micah 6:8 - to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him - look in the day to day routine of my life? Especially on those days when I encounter someone on the periphery who, for whatever reason, may be distracted, impatient or coming undone? How quickly do I take offense at the person who cuts me off in traffic? How do I choose to respond to the lady who snarls at me when I accidently bump her shopping cart in line? Or, what should my response be to the out of control guy at the restaurant who is putting a damper on "my" peaceful good time? ...
We simply can never truly know what anyone else is up against at any given moment of the day – yet, (regardless of their attitude or action) I can surprise them with grace. I can act out with mercy in mind. I can take a breath, or take two if needed and resort to an approach marked by a humble hand hoping to lift up or encourage instead of adding to their strife. I can be less absorbed in I, me and mine - more present, less put out. That is who I want to be, but here's a SHOCKER (ha!)... that is not always who I am (LOL! Debbie E.!) Still, I long to live it out with more consistency...how about you? Ponder on...
