Minivan Moments

Dear Driver, Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the introduction of spring weather thus far and i pray this letter finds you well. This afternoon, my children and i were coming home in the early stages of rush-hour traffic. We had the advantage of being able to drive in the HOV lane, though, which was super awesome as i had a stomach ache to beat all and needed to hurry home. The problem is, while we were over in that lane, my son, who was in the passenger's seat, looked over and saw you staring at your smartphone. While driving. Then he saw YOU doing it, too. And then YOU. I argued that maybe you were placing a call, but when we leapfrogged back and forth a couple of times, it became obvious to both of us that not one of you was placing a call. Or putting down your smartphones. Two of you were casually perusing your smartphones while paying partial attention to the traffic ahead of you and probably no attention to the traffic all around you. According to my son, it looked l...

Over the past 18 months, my life has been pretty non-stop upheaval and stress. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that the list of Top Life Stressors has knocked nearly constantly at my door. And they aren't really polite about waiting to see if i want them to hang around! During this time, i have prayed, begged, wept, screeched, sat in stony silence, and lost myself to hysteria too many times to count over the drama that has become my life. I have enlisted many prayer warriors for many situations beyond my faculties, and i have cried in the front row (with friends) and the back row (alone) of my church. Winter has become my New Normal, and i'm not talking about the weather. So, this past week, yet more drama came to call. And it was followed closely by... yep, you guessed it, more drama . Gah! I was pretty sure i had been hit by more than i could handle, i got pretty depressed, and when i thought i couldn't take any more of it, God reminded me...

Gossip. What is it? I mean, what is it really ? One definition is " casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true . " Another is " idle   talk   or   rumor,   especially   about   the   personal   or   private   affairs   of  others ." So, gossip is first, about someone else. Second, gossip is generally speculation. And third, gossip is often about another person's private affairs. I have been the victim of vicious gossip. And i have been the deliverer of gossip. I have also been an unwilling participant of gossip, trying to get away or encourage the deliverer to stop gossiping. Here's what i know: - gossip is talking about something that isn't your business. - gossip is talking about someone who isn't present. - gossip is passing on someone else's problems disguised as a "prayer request." - gossip isn't necessari...

I have to say that i am noticing something lately about the kindness of strangers. And it is both surprising and obvious at the same time. Especially if you live in the South, as i do. ;) Strangers will let a car go in front of them in traffic, offer a handshake and a smile in the church lobby, and exchange pleasantries while lingering in a waiting room. I see these behaviors all the time. And i think they are well done. We should be kind to one another! And as a Christian, i know that God calls us to love one another, that He rebukes us in the holy Scriptures to love even " the least of these " [ Matthew 25:40 ] and the ones who are less lovable [ Matthew 5:43-47 ]. Lately, though, with Social Media, i am noticing another trend in the kindness of strangers: we praise, encourage, and compliment one another in the public forum. Again, there is nothing wrong with that. But it hit me like a ton of bricks this week that we are not as good at performing those same kindnesses a...