OK, we are home again. Several miles of driving over the past week, several different friends and family members visited, and sleeping in a lot of different beds. So, what do I remember as I sit here in the quiet of this new day?
Most of all I think about people, friends from long ago and newer ones from the past few years. I think about family and the lives that they lead also. The places that we traveled to did not seem that important, it was the lives of those that we interacted with that seemed to hold my attention.
As I thought about these folks, some of which I have already written about, I contemplate what I really know about each one. It is like having "friends" on Facebook. I can only see what they choose to let me see about their lives.
If one chooses to post on that social media what new things that they have done or accomplished, that is what they have wanted each of their friends to know. That seems to be how they want their lives evaluated. Likewise with homes or cars or any of the stuff that they collect, as well as who they know or hang out with.
It is the same when we sit down and visit with people. The only way I can see into their true lives is through what they reveal and what I observe. I cannot know all of their struggles and joys. I cannot know how they feel about their family situations, whether that be good or bad.
All of us wear masks to some degree. We want to look good to those that surround us in life, while, maybe on the inside, we are hurting. We may want to appear successful in life, when, in reality, we know we are failing in the really important parts.
It seems, that through all the miles and places of this past week, the parts that stick out to me are the times that we sat down and visited with our friends and family. Relationships are important, and that is what makes life. We interacted with scores of folks in these days, from those "living the good life" to those grieving over the loss of a loved one, or stuck in a nursing home.
But then, how about me. How many masks do I wear, with one to fit every occasion?
God knows the real me, as well as the secret lives of all that we have talked with over these days. I can only listen to talk and observe the walk of others, but I want mine to truly reflect His Love and His Grace.
Not in just words, either.
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