<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surrounded by several precious friends who were part of our church small group and all ten years my senior, I had no business piping up about graduation open houses. The ladies were bemoaning the fact these events are a ton of work. As a young mom with only two elementary-aged kids at the time, I had no wisdom on the subject whatsoever. However, I was such a punk, I let those lovely ladies know that the wisest amongst us (presumably, me\u2026) would never stoop to such a ridiculous, wasteful and unnecessary cultural trap! I let them know it was a huge waste of time, money and energy to obsess over painting the garage, updating the landscaping, buying new patio furniture, string lights, table d\u00e9cor and yard games, spending hours arranging the most Pinterest-y photo displays that no one looks at, and cooking expensive impressive foods for the throngs of friends and family who\u2019d really all prefer to spend their Saturdays elsewhere. No, we, the smart parents, will forego the event, save the three thousand dollars and just hand the savings over to the undeserving grad (I mean, is high school even a REAL accomplishment these days???) and call it even. \u201cIt\u2019s all a stupid game of competition,\u201d I said, \u201cAnd we\u2019re not playing it!\u201d Voila!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three hours later in fit-full attempt at sleep, I realized how reckless my words had been. I suddenly realized that one of the sweetest ladies in my group actually had a child graduating that spring and was in the very midst of planning his graduation open house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me and my big mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took all my courage to call her the next morning and apologize. (Is there anyone who LIKES to be wrong and LIKES to apologize??? How I dreaded that phone call!) I told her I had overstepped and it was uncalled for. I apologized for talking about something I knew nothing about and that I had no business judging others for their decisions on that issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you know what she said? I\u2019ll never forget it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCindy, don\u2019t worry about it! Not for a second! Your words maybe stung for a second, but you know what? I know your heart and your heart is good. When you know someone well and you know they would never intentionally hurt you, you just let stuff like that go. Don\u2019t worry about it. You\u2019re my dear friend and I love you. I forgive you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercy. Lord have mercy. She offered me mercy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, precious friends – what if we offered the same thing for one another today? Why are we throwing words arounds like darts to the people we know and love the most \u2013 people with whom we actually DO life together \u2013 and wounding one another with our words? What if we actually trusted the goodness of those that we know and instead of resorting to name-calling and assigning evil intent, we simply doled out mercy like ice cream on a hot summer day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if we stopped letting Rachel Maddow, Tucker Carlson, Chris Cuomo and Sean Hannity (or ALL the many opinion-based news outlets) tell us who is \u201cevil\u201d? What if we raised our collective voices and said, \u201cNO! You sucker-punch pundits \u2013 you don\u2019t get the right to tell me who my enemy is. These people here? These people are my family, my friends, my co-workers, my neighbors, my fellow church goers \u2013 I KNOW these people and I KNOW THEIR HEARTS!!! And YOU, you talking-head who knows absolutely nothing about these lovely people in my life, YOU don\u2019t get to tell me they are \u201cevil.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if we raised our voices against those who are trying to divide us and said: STOP IT, YOU RATES-SEEKING OPINIONATED LOUDMOUTHS! (Friends, if there is ONE thing critical to putting an end to divisiveness in America, it\u2019s that we learn and understand the difference between news and opinion pieces. Most mediums claiming to share news are, in reality, pure opinion and they are simply fueling the fire that stirs in the belly of their favorite fans. It\u2019s a ratings game and our intelligence must rise above it, quite honestly.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember when our kids were young and they\u2019d tell us they wouldn\u2019t play with \u201cso-and-so\u201d because all the other kids said she was \u201cweird\u201d or \u201cstinky\u201d or \u201cmean\u201d or whatever nasty label nasty kids give to the \u201cso-and-so\u2019s\u201d of the world? Remember that? What did we tell our kids? Did we say \u201cYeah, that\u2019s right. We don\u2019t mix with the \u201cso-and-so\u2019s. Stay away from her, for sure!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, we bent down low, close to our child\u2019s face and spoke plain and clear to ensure they understood us and said, \u201cDon\u2019t you pay ANY mind to what the other kids say about \u201cso-and-so\u201d! Do not judge other kids based on what a few loudmouth kids have to say! Do NOT be a follower! Make up your own mind! Get to know \u201cso-and-so.\u201d Sit by her at lunch and share your food with her. Talk to her and EXPECT to find the good in her. Never listen to the bullies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never listen to the bullies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh my goodness, Americans! If kindergartners can do this, so can we!!! Let\u2019s not listen to the bullies! Let\u2019s listen to each other\u2019s hearts! Let\u2019s give each other an attentive listening ear and even if at the end of the conversation we don\u2019t see eye-to-eye, we still say to each other:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about it. I know your heart, and your heart is good. I cannot be hurt by your words or even your actions, because I KNOW YOU AND YOU ARE GOOD and you would not intentionally hurt me. I will give you MERCY.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when Washington DC can\u2019t bridge the great political divide, I know WE can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peoples of America: We DO NOT have to accept this narrative of division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can CHOOSE MERCY.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what the LORD Almighty says: \u2018Administer true justice<\/strong>: show mercy<\/strong> and compassion to one another.\u2019 … Judgment<\/strong> without mercy<\/strong> will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful<\/strong>. Mercy<\/strong> triumphs over judgment<\/strong>!\u201d    Amos 7:9<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Surrounded by several precious friends who were part of our church small group and all ten years my senior, I had no business piping up about graduation open houses. The ladies were bemoaning the fact these events are a ton of work. As a young mom with only two elementary-aged kids at the time, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[90],"yoast_head":"\n