Honor Where Honor is Due

This Memorial Day Weekend was an important weekend, and an emotional one too. 

Memories of my close friends from my days in the Army who died flood my mind and my heart. Most memories are of moments filled with laughter during a quick weekend get away, or a BBQ at Treasa and my apartment. Thoughts of my friends flood my mind. I think about the dreams they shared, their families, and all that made them uniquely them. 

It is a strange thing to accept that they are no longer around.  

Yet, it is the depth of our relationship with these people, and the many men and women who gave their lives in service to our great country that makes Memorial Day so important. They were so much more than a number. They were so much more than a random military member. They were Dads, Moms, Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters... they were our friends. 

When we use the word honor, it really has two meanings. One is the honor we show, we give esteem and respect that is deserved; but there is also the honor that we keep to a deal or an agreement. We honor the promise that we made. 

Both versions of honor are appropriate on Memorial Day. We need to give the honor and respect, that these men and women so plainly deserve. We need also need to honor our part of the deal following their sacrifice. We will not forget, we will not let their memory fade away. We will not allow their sacrifice to lose its wonder. 

So we honor you heroes, we honor you military service members, we honor you friends.

Listening and Sharing

Treasa and I were invited over to a friends house for dinner last night. There were four families there hanging out together. It was a lot of fun. The best part, well besides the delicious food, was getting to hear each others stories. 

We joked about different defining moments in our marriages and or lives. We talked about how we met our spouses, and the journey from the first date to our wedding day.

Everyone's story was fascinating. 

As I sat and listened to everyone's story I was captivated by the little moments they described. I felt compassion for the difficult moments they experienced; and I laughed at the embarrassing moments they described that were all too familiar from my own life. 

I walked away feeling like I got to know these other couples really well. We had shared a very personal part of our story. It helped me to know them, and it gave them a chance to get to know us. 

Sometimes it is easier to just exist around people, instead of really sharing life with them.

It's uncomfortable to tell an embarrassing part of your story. It's risky to share a time you are ashamed of. Yet in these moments of vulnerability, we get a chance to really know someone, and give others a chance to really get to know us.

Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to life him up!"

God made us to be in relationship with other people. There is a risk sure, but the reward is even greater!

So are you just existing around others? Or are you sharing life with them?

Allow me to encourage you to be real with the people God has placed around you. You will be so glad you did.  

Learning to Be Compassionate

Compassion is something that comes easier to some than it does to others. 

I am not sure exactly where I fall in that scale; but I'm guessing right around "It could be worse, but I can definitely do better."

I am guessing you are probably somewhere in that same scale.  

Truth is, the bar Jesus set for compassion is pretty remarkable. There were so many times when Jesus encountered a person, a group of people, or a situation, and He had compassion on them. 

He didn't show compassion to only one type of person. Jesus showed compassion for the rich and poor, family and strangers, good and bad. He showed compassion to all sorts of people, in all sorts of situations. 

I was on my way to drop my kids off at school a couple days ago, and my oldest forgot to bring the lunch his Mom packed him. It wasn't the first time. It wasn't even the first time that week. I was feeling way more frustration than compassion. I told him, he had to learn this lesson, so I guess he would go hungry that day. 

I dropped him off at his entrance, and continued on to take his younger sister to drop her off at her class. As we were walking to her classroom she started crying. It came completely out of the blue, she was in great spirits that morning. So I asked her, "What's wrong?" With tears in her eyes, she said, "Just bring Isaiah my lunch, I don't want him to be hungry." 

She couldn't handle the idea that her brother would go hungry. So she would rather give up her lunch so he didn't have to endure that. 

I promised Priscilla I would go get Isaiah a lunch and bring it to him, and dropped her off in class.

You can imagine my response following this moment. I was frustrated at the inconvenience that came my way. I put my feelings far before my son and his need. My ten-year-old daughter was moved to tears by her compassion for her brothers struggle.

The take away from this? I imagine Jesus is a lot more like Priscilla was in this moment, and a lot less like I was.

I hope you can learn from this lesson like I did. 

I pray you would be motivated to show compassion to others this week.   

Do For Others, What You Wish They Did For You

Have you ever been walking through life, minding your own business, and this epiphany comes flying out of nowhere, and knocks you over. 

I had one of these moments today. I was talking with a friend, and as we were joking, he said, "Do for others what you want done for you, not just what was done to you." 

It was a simple statement but it really hit me hard in that moment. I need to treat people and help people, in a way that I want to be treated and helped. 

I think sometimes when we look at someone struggling, we feel a sense of satisfaction if we suffered in a similar way. We can think to ourselves, "I had to suffer through that, so they should too!" As I write that out, I admit I feel a bit of shame for even confessing I have thought that way! 

Jesus said in John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

When we love people, how Jesus instructs us to love people, we should be compelled to help them avoid the same suffering we have endured; not celebrate that they have to suffer too.

So consider this thought, when you see someone going through a struggle you have endured before, stop and help them out! You know how much you didn't like it. Chances are, they don't like it exactly as much as you did.

If we can help someone out, we should right? So get to work!