I read something tonight that infuriated me. I was livid. At the sentiment and at myself for taking the bait and clicking the link on the article. I know better. Of course, I know better.
I also shop infomercials.
But enough about my character flaws.
Just when I felt like I was about to say “forget it” and throw in the towel, I read a post by Miranda. Maybe you know her, maybe you don’t. If you know her, you’ll be nodding in agreement with me. If you don’t know her, I’m sorry. She’s a breath of fresh air. She’s been through an awful lot in the last few years and her growth and grace have been nothing short of inspiring. She’s not perfect by any stretch and she’d be the first to tell you that. But she is a rather lovely reflection. A reflection of her Savior.
Today she posted the following on Facebook. It helped me focus when I was too click happy on all the wrong things. I asked her if I could share it on my blog and she agreed. Nothing I could say tonight could hold a candle to this.
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So I attended a sort of lecture last night on parenting and one thing that stuck out in my mind was the idea of a “rewind:” rather than reminding kids constantly, give them the chance to rewind and try a behavior or response a second time.
And I’m pretty sure, as I’m watching the shock and awe and utter disbelief unfold across my news feed concerning everything that’s been going on in the news, I can’t help but feel that I need a quick rewind, too.
I need to stop being shocked by sin. We all sin. The world is sin. I can be sad, dismayed, hurt, angry…but not shocked. The world is fallen. We’ve lost the world.
And I don’t need to wring my hands and shout “What can I do!?” I can’t redeem the world. But I can redeem individuals.
“But how do I do it!? The problems are too large! It’s just too much!” Take a breath…stop…rewind…look at the Scriptures. Thank God that, in His providence, He has provided us with exactly the right answers, just as He provided answers to other Christians throughout history who felt like strangers in a strange land.
Lead a quiet life…mind your own affairs…work with your hands…live peaceably with all men…show hospitality to strangers…get wisdom…pray without ceasing.
The world is not our business. It’s the Devil’s business.
People are our business.
And people can be redeemed, just as we’ve been redeemed. Through our peaceful lives that look so different. Through the sharing of the Gospel of peace. By overwhelming displays of love and grace and mercy to every single person we meet every single day.
This seems doable. And if we each do what we can, our piece of the world will be better.
– Miranda Nerland
Amen, sistah. I’m going to stop reading everything in every feed and stop believing everything I read. I’m going to try to stop worrying about what I can’t change and start changing what I can. And when I don’t get it quite right the first time, like to today, I’m going to do my best to just take a moment and rewind.
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