I was in deep thought the other day, remembering a time, when I was in my early 20's, running on the treadmill at the gym. As I ran, I looked around and noticed that most of the "older" people (about 50 and up) were riding the bikes, and the "younger" ones were on the treadmills. At the time, I couldn't understand why anybody would want to ride the bike over the treadmill. I mean, you could get a much better workout on the treadmill. You can adjust the incline to go up and down hills, you can adjust the level of difficulty, and you can even choose the weight loss setting if you would like, but the bikes were pretty standard, and when I looked over at the people riding them, I thought that they looked a little relaxed. Now, we can fast-forward 20 years or so, and as I sit here pedaling away on my bike in physical therapy, I finally get it, their knees hurt! Lol!
Family, I guess what I am trying to say is, you never truly understand somebody's pain until you have experienced it yourself, and even then, your situations are not exactly the same.
Another example is the loss of a parent. I have watched my mom lose both of her parents. My sister Chloe lost her mom, and I know countless others who have also lost one parent or both, and my heart was broken for them, but I never truly understood what it felt like to have a part of your soul gone forever until my dad died last year.
There are all kinds of pain in this world. Mental illness, physical illness, emotional pain, heartbreak, depression, the loss of a child, the loss of a family member or friend, regret, PTSD, etc., and you never know what kind of pain somebody else is going through, especially if it is a complete stranger who you may cross paths with during your everyday life.
With that being said family, I bring this bible verse before you today from Colossians 3:12-14 that says, "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
This is a reminder today family, for you and for me, to be kind. Be patient with the person who cuts you off in traffic and don't tailgate them. Thats a hard one for me! Be patient with the people who may irk your nerves a little bit at work and give them grace. Love on the kids who seem like bullies, and the ones who whine a lot because that is usually a call for help. Say "Please" and "Thank you", smile often, and remember it's the little things that matter.