Imagine a day where you simply made the choice to remain unoffendable.
Where you simply had compassion for the rough edges of others …
Where you realize that their bad day, their bad attitude and their difficult actions are just evidence of something deeper going on inside them …
And where you recognize they, like you, just need a little love and whole lot of patience from time-to-time.
Now think of it like this: what if you’re the person?
What if God is giving you a cool opportunity to be that one person for this simple, normal, average, but beautiful assignment of love that’s disguised as an ordinary Thursday, Monday, Sunday, Saturday and Tuesday, to show them that yes, there are still good people in this world.
If you thought of people in this way, could you be less annoyed? Could you extend more compassion? Could you offer more forgiveness? I’m betting so. Because here’s the thing …
If we could all just walk a couple of miles in each other’s journeys, I’m betting we could all understand and we could all relate to the tears, the stress, the mess, the disagreements, the sleepless nights and the discouraging circumstances.
And then maybe, just maybe, we could all be a little less harsh with one another, a little less apt to think we’re handling life better, and a little less tempted to think we have it all figured out when we really don’t.
So perhaps what this world needs, amidst the differences, the frustrations and the conflicts, is not another opinion, or another triggered reaction, or another piece of someone’s mind, but rather a kind smile, a thoughtful question, a warm hug, a friendly tone and an ordinary act of love.