When you’re tired, or fighting a cold (or worse) or having a selfish moment, it’s harder to sow peace and grace to others. Those are the times when we need to say to ourselves, “Double down and look for the good anywhere you can find it.” I’m thinking about a woman I saw recently on TV following the devastating fire which destroyed her neighborhood in Colorado. She had lost everything the week after Christmas. If I were in that position, with the holidays so recent, memories of family gathered in the living room exchanging carefully chosen gifts, sitting around the dinner table, maybe singing Christmas carols, only to return to char, destruction, and loss of family mementos, I don’t think I’d have her attitude. I’d be crying over my losses, wondering how I could possibly start over, probably griping a bit. But she adopted the Mr. Rogers attitude. He said his mother told him in every tragedy, look to the helpers, the ones who come to improve the situation. That’s exactly what this lady was saying. She was thankful that the whole country was praying for them, that offers of help had come from people who sympathized, and that she had assurances that help was on the way. She was so very thankful that people knew about their plight and cared.
It’s hard to be nice to people when we’re feeling down, for whatever reason, and yes, admit it, sometimes we are. But those are the times we need to find that extra measure of grace to make someone else’s journey better, to lighten someone else’s load, and to be ever more vigilant in looking for people to bless. It will not only raise our own mood and attitude, it will sow peace, mercy, love, and yes, grace to someone whose circumstances could be more challenging, even, than our own. Keep the antennas up, seeking situations where we can show Jesus’ love to others.
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