grace is a good thing ...

what is with us as women?

why do we constantly rush to judgements upon other women?

can i share with you one of my favorite quotes since high school?

{of course i can, it's my blog.}

"be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."-plato

i have tried to make this my life quote.

when the lady in front of me at the store is a b%$*#,

i tell myself i don't know her circumstances.

when the jerk cuts me off and nearly hits me, i tell myself i'm not in his shoes.

i play a sort of game with myself,

where i imagine what might be going on in their life.

{it annoys the hell out of my husband.}

 i was part of a conversation the other day where some CHRISTIAN women where talking about a mom who is always picking her kids up from school in her pajamas.

i heard things like "really? you can't be dressed by 2 pm?"

"can you say lazy?"

"no class at all."

but in my mind, i try to think,

maybe she works a swing shift and comes home to sleep before her kids get off at 2,

maybe she has a chronic illness that leaves her in pain all day,

maybe she is going through a rotten divorce and spends her days in bed trying to get over the ache of it.

when my hubby gets mad at other drivers, i always say,

maybe their wife was just rushed to the hospital and they're trying to get there.

maybe there is a fire.

maybe this, maybe that.

it's so easy to rush to judgements about others.

so. easy.

i sure do it a lot too.

especially when it comes to parenting.

i can be self-righteous and judgemental too, so i am not saying i'm perfect by any stretch.

what i'm saying is that

grace is a good thing.

i think there is a place among believers for confrontation in sin.

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over."

matt. 18:15

so i am not saying that there should not be standards upheld and sin allowed.

what i'm saying is that the petty, self righteous, 'i'm better than they are' stuff is just plain sad.

you're not better because you have nice clothes on to pick up your kid.

you're not better because your thin.

you're not better because you drive well.

you're not better because your kids obey you right away.

if you have anything, anything to be proud of,

it's that your God and Savior saved you by His power and His might.

don't assume the overweight mom sits on her butt all day eating bon bons,

she may have a serious illness.

don't assume that the mom raising her voice in frustration, or handing out candy bribes, or simply ignoring her kids in the supermarket is a bad mom,

maybe she's walking around dazed from just learning of her unfaithful spouse.

don't get mad at the old man driving too slowly,

ha may have fought for your country and your freedom some decades back.

the next time you are having one of those annoyed/pissed off/look-down-your-nose-at moments,

ask yourself if you are walking in that persons shoes.

do you know what they go home to at night?

do you know what pain they've faced?

do you feel qualified to stand in judgement of someone you may not even know?

i'm learning too.

maybe one day we'll get there.

what i know?

grace is a good thing,

let's give it where we can.

blessings,

mandy