Momentum For Monday, November 21st 2022
“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.” (Ephesians 4:32)
When I was 17, my parents allowed me to go on a mission trip to Mexico over Christmas break my senior year. In hindsight, that was one of the best things my parents ever did for me (although I did break my leg, but that's another story for another day). That trip checked my heart so hard, in a good way, that I was never the same.
I was a senior and in a journalism class and my teacher encouraged me to write about my experience, so I did. The biggest takeaway for me, although there were others moments, was the ability to connect with someone I had nothing in common with. And actually, it was a little boy that taught me that lesson.
He was maybe five? He was small and dirty, his family very poor. All he wanted to do was play though. I barely spoke Spanish. He barely spoke at all, but it wasn't an issue. Though I never even found out his name, it didn't matter. We wrestled, laughed, and carried on like we'd known each other for years (this was before I broke my leg of course).
What I couldn't get over was how much we didn't have in common. How we couldn't speak to each other at all, but we still connected. It's been over 20 years and I've still never forgotten him.
Why do I bring this up? Well, really it’s a reminder for me, but I figured I’d share it in case anyone else benefits from it. This week and in the upcoming holiday gatherings, we’re going to be surrounded by people that are so different from us. They may not in a matter of sorts, “speak your language.” That’s ok, we can still be peaceful people.
Everyone has upbringings that have shaped them into who they have become as a person. Nobody is born with opinions, they are learned. When they disagree with us, they can rub us the wrong way, but try to remember that there’s a reason behind it all. Those reasons can be painful and our kindness can bridge the love of God to them. Blessings with your get-together’s coming up, let’s be praying for one another.
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
(Luke 6:35)