Anger, resentment, and jealousy don't change the hearts of others; they only change yours.
~~~~~~~~~~~ Shannon Alder
At one time or another, we've all formed opinions about the lives of others. We create myths about life, based on our observations about that perfect family down the street, or that perfect couple we met last week, or that lady at work who just has it all together. As we go about living our own lives, they never seem as idyllic as the fantasies we've created from watching others. Maybe we don't really envy those other people, so much as we wonder where we went wrong, why doesn't our life look like theirs?
Growing up, there was a family in our little town that seemed to have it all, and in some ways, maybe they did. Their oldest child, a daughter, was flat-out gorgeous, and was as lovely on the inside as she was on the outside. She married a man who was as handsome as she was beautiful. Right out of a Rockwell painting. Yesterday I got a call that this lady's younger brother had been killed in an accident, so I started digging around to figure out the circumstances, and see what we could do to be helpful. Sadly, I learned that a few short years ago, this beautiful couple had lost an adult child, apparently to addiction. It all seemed so unjust, and I hated it for them. Out of this foul admixture of emotions, I came to realize that if I were making a deal with the devil to let me have their perfect lives, the cost would be one of my children, and a sibling.
Hard pass.
Be at Peace my friends.
NT
James 3: 13-18
In loving tribute to my family friend, and those he left behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~ Shannon Alder
At one time or another, we've all formed opinions about the lives of others. We create myths about life, based on our observations about that perfect family down the street, or that perfect couple we met last week, or that lady at work who just has it all together. As we go about living our own lives, they never seem as idyllic as the fantasies we've created from watching others. Maybe we don't really envy those other people, so much as we wonder where we went wrong, why doesn't our life look like theirs?
Growing up, there was a family in our little town that seemed to have it all, and in some ways, maybe they did. Their oldest child, a daughter, was flat-out gorgeous, and was as lovely on the inside as she was on the outside. She married a man who was as handsome as she was beautiful. Right out of a Rockwell painting. Yesterday I got a call that this lady's younger brother had been killed in an accident, so I started digging around to figure out the circumstances, and see what we could do to be helpful. Sadly, I learned that a few short years ago, this beautiful couple had lost an adult child, apparently to addiction. It all seemed so unjust, and I hated it for them. Out of this foul admixture of emotions, I came to realize that if I were making a deal with the devil to let me have their perfect lives, the cost would be one of my children, and a sibling.
Hard pass.
Be at Peace my friends.
NT
James 3: 13-18
In loving tribute to my family friend, and those he left behind.
