Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 1 Corinthians 12:14
Excitement comes along when the beginning of the winter season takes place for me. It’s nice to see that snow! It’s great to curl up in those warm, snuggly blankets with a mug of hot chocolate. There’s more time for reflection and thinking, right? The guilt isn’t on you if you’re not working outside because it’s dark and cold out.
There gets to be a time when enough is enough! I start needing to see green and feel the sun on my face again. I want to slip flip flops onto my feet instead of big, bulky boots when I’m just taking the dog out to do his business. I begin to see the benefits of getting out and interacting with others even if I’m only thanking them for holding a door or nodding with a smile at those going past. When winter gets to this point, it feels like a mission from God to have the opportunity to get groceries instead of a chore!
There’s a phrase for the way I was feeling. It’s called cabin fever! Do you know what I’m talking about? The walls were closing in on me, things were starting to look bleak, and I was feeling trapped. If I didn’t get out of the house for a while, I knew it wasn’t going to be a good situation for me or my family. I could tell the boys were getting tired of the winter too because of all the bickering. Since they went camping last weekend, I figured it would cure them for a bit. I was wrong.
I was determined to stop the slump I was in and take some action last week. I got ready and headed out all by myself with no distractions and no bickering. I was probably three minutes into my journey and enjoying my escape while singing “Born Free” at the top of my lungs when an eagle gracefully flew right across my path. It was low enough that I could see the white on its tail and head but high enough that I remembered what it feels like to soar when you realize you’re on the right path. Yes, I was free indeed celebrating God’s grace on me!
Can you tell me who sings “Born Free”? It’s not one of the Christian artists I’ve talked about before; it’s Kid Rock. If you know who he is, what was the picture that went through your head? Did you see Kid Rock, the artist who puts out songs that can shock and make you dive for your computer to hit stop, or did you see Robert Ritchie, a person?
It’s easy for us to point out what we don’t like about somebody, but do we stop to find out what we can learn from that person? Do we judge so completely that we’d refuse to even have a conversation with them? I think this is one of the biggest disservices we can do to ourselves, let alone to another person. When we’re willing to have a conversation, are we going in ready to show them the error of their ways and to debate them, or are we going into the conversation with the intent to hear what they’re saying?
I challenge you to enter a conversation with someone who looks different than you or doesn’t have the same thoughts as you. Even though I don’t believe in everything Mr. Ritchie does or says, I listened to a fascinating interview with him that made me look at many of his views with lots of respect. There were parts that I fully agreed with him and he helped me look at things in a better way. We had many things in common and I liked him.
Every person has value. It isn’t about who’s right or who’s wrong, it’s about what YOU learn from it. Don’t get trapped in a type of cabin fever that has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with a judgmental mind. When we yell it from that mountain high that we were born free (and will use that freedom not to be bound by small thinking), that’s when we soar with the eagles.
Today, let’s open our mind, rise higher, and stop this outrageous outlook that we can only converse with people just like us. Let’s recognize how important each person is. You just might be surprised what you have in common with someone and what you can learn from them. Remember that just as the body isn’t made up of only one part but of many, the world is the same with God’s children.
