I find myself pondering last week and the weeks ahead…
… the racial tension…
… the intentional ambushing of police…
… the Republican and Democrat national conventions…
… the attempted coup and crackdown in Turkey…
… more details surrounding the terrorist attack in France…
… the continued evil acts of ISIS and lack of containment…
… the awful rhetoric justified on our airwaves…
… the people who go after each other in social media…
… all who want to tell us how unethical Hillary Clinton is, ignoring any “unethical” in Donald Trump…
… all who want to tell us how unethical Donald Trump is, ignoring any “unethical” in Hillary Clinton…
… the tension…
… blinders…
… grief…
… and great strife…
I find myself sitting here thinking we are focusing too much on too little. We get so caught up in an aspect or angle, and then such becomes the only thing we can see or think about. It becomes the only thing that’s important to us. And thus, respect, listening, healthy dialogue, etc., they get thrown way behind on the priority back burner.
Let me be clear. By no means am I suggesting that any of the above are unimportant. Of course not. Each deserves our time, attention, reflection, and prayer. What I am instead posing is that sometimes we become so wrapped up — even in one thing that’s important — that we allow all else to crumble to the ground…
… We unfriend people… after a heated exchange, we suggest “we never knew them”…
… We justify insult…
… We say we don’t care who we hurt…
And then we do. We hurt other people. It’s the whole “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore” attitude. (Note: such attitude tends not to do well on the “winning friends and influencing people” idea. Just saying.)
On my recent birthday, after years of desire, I was given a long coveted watch. It was significantly pricier than most, but it was a splurge by my spouse wanting to honor me in a thoughtful, unordinary way. Three days after his gift, still moved by my hub’s generosity, I dropped the delicate timepiece in the wrong way at the wrong time at the wrong place, immediately smashing it into countless pieces. I was shocked…
I was shocked and mad and teary and upset, and I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I craved that for so long!!
And then I lost it.
After an extended gasp and a quick call to my spouse, he (demonstrating one of the multiple, wonderful reasons why I married him), immediately reminded me to keep what’s most important, most important… Don’t let it take on a life all of it’s own… Don’t let it totally derail you… Don’t let it cause you to lose sight of all else.
Yes, I am understandably very sad about my once new watch. Even though material, it was important to me. I don’t know if we will replace it.
But such circumstance and all the justified, accompanying emotion will not stand in the way of those many other important things…
… that still deserve my time, attention, reflection, and prayer.
Respectfully…
AR