Ever have one of those days where you just feel the need to punch someone in the face for no apparent reason?
No?
Oh… well, me neither, then…
Seriously, though, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I thought maybe my devotional would help, but not really. And as soon as my prayer time was over, I went right back to feeling cranky.
On my way to work, I was being snippy with my daughter, and then once I got to work I found it hard to put on my smile. I was just all around sour…
Then a funny thing happened. I watched an old man helping his wife with a walker get her food from the buffet, and he carried it back to her seat. He was so attentive to her the entire time, watching her intently and lovingly helping her. Then I saw some young parents who were attending to their very upset little baby. They lovingly caressed and held that baby until it calmed down. And I also saw a teenage boy pull out the chair for his grandmother and arrange the plates on the table for his grandfather.
Everywhere I turned I witnessed acts of love and kindness. It took away my sour attitude instantly, and as a result the rest of my day went smoothly.
It got me thinking about human nature. Society likes to tell us that people are mean, dishonest and untrustworthy. What I witnessed today and every day tells me that society is completely wrong. After all, we are made in the image of God. I believe that means that we are innately kind and loving creatures. Satan will try to tell us otherwise, and it is true that some people are so far removed from God that they appear to be evil and unkind. But I think the majority of people are what I saw today… kind, attentive and loving. That realization really puts a smile on my face…
What do you think? Do you think we are born kind and loving? Or do you think it is something we learn?
I understand days like that. It can be so easy to lose faith in humanity. But I truly think God understands this more than anyone, so he provides us little signs to keep us going. One day, I took my car to get an oil change, and decided to walk across a very long parking lot with Gracie (2 at the time) to get her a cookie from Publix since the car place was going to be over an hour. That walk wasn't as quick as I thought. I had a diaper bag and water, and she was dressed in cool clothing, so we weren't in any danger, but it was just a long walk. So the 2 of us walked and sang and held hands, and I want you to know, no less than 5 cars stopped. One of them was a brand new mercedes, and a very wealthy woman (I can only imagine based on the size of her diamond)asked if I was okay or if we needed a ride somewhere. Another woman asked me if we needed water. And don't ask me how I know, but I swear to you that God was shoving it in my brain that these women had probably never stopped to help anyone for the same reasons I'm scared to stop. I worry sick about safety. Can I just tell you, we weren't stranded or out of options or even having car problems, but people really cared! I was very moved by that. Or the week that Mike went on that 6 month deployment and I was sitting in the Village Inn with the girls by myself, struggling. There were some SCARY bikers, looked like a ZZ Top convention. Those gentlemen made googly eyes at Gracie the whole time. The waitress knew us for many years and she mentioned to them that my husband had just been deployed. So, right before they left, they paid for our lunch. They wouldn't let her tell us until they left. People are innately good, all God's creation. Life is what makes us crazy!! LOL
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