It happened at church. My family had come early, and as we walked down the hallway, a young mother tried to drop off her two-year-old at the nursery. The worker explained that unfortunately they couldn't take any children yet. The mother's reaction caught me by surprise. She swept her child into her arms, shouted "Thanks a lot!" and stormed off down the hall. I forced myself not to turn and watch her stomp away. I couldn't believe she got that upset because the nursery wasn't open. After all, she had shown up early! And why couldn't she wait a couple minutes? I was tempted to think less of her after that situation. A few uncharitable thoughts went through my head. But I reminded myself that I, too, have over-reacted to simple situations. If that had been me, I would want others to give me the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she had just been given really bad news. Maybe she'd been feeling sick all day. Maybe she had had trouble with that particular worker in the past. While … [Read more...]
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