I used to judge people with small children pretty harshly. Their children ruined my dinner, made my flights miserable, woke me up, and made for poor house guests. Why don’t they do something with those kids? I wondered with contempt. As if they weren’t trying.
Category: Loving Your Neighbor
Held Hostage by Unforgiveness
I tried to confront my dad about his failures one time when I was a sophomore in college. It didn’t go well. We were getting to know each other again after being estranged for three years. Because he lived 12 hours away, we talked over the phone, building an awkward, on-and-off, long-distance relationship.
Needlessly Falling Down
My mother-in-law stood at the top of the stairs holding my daughter’s hand. Before they could come down, I said, “Hold up, let me tell you what happened the other day.” I jogged up the stairs and began explaining how my daughter had almost slipped down the stairs two weeks before. But I wasn’t content to just tell the story – no, I needed to re-enact it.
Caught Between Love and a Cigarette
I was a child when I started hating cigarettes. Blame my dad. His smoking habit clung to him like a dirty, old coat. He said he hated it, but the only thing that could stop him from puffing was dipping snuff. I found that equally disgusting. Over time, my disgust with dad’s smoking habit turned into a disgust with anyone who smoked cigarettes. It only got worse in college when I became a neurotic, Bible-thumping church cop who gratuitously looked for reasons to condemn people to hell.
Emotional Exhibitionism
I remember one of the first times I barfed out my feelings to a group of people. I was 13-years-old, my family was coming apart, and I needed to talk to someone. Around that time, a caring teacher invited me to a peer counseling group. When it was my turn to talk, it didn’t take long before all the pent-up frustration boiled over into emotion.
Digging for a Speck and Finding a Plank
Once in a blue moon, I end up in regular, close proximity to someone with a unique combination of characteristics which painfully grate on my nerves. Sometimes, these are people with whom I do my best to keep a distance; but other times, these are friends or family whom I welcome into my life with open arms, but clenched fists.
If I Really Knew You
Recently, I complimented two different men in separate conversations, encouraging them to consider mentoring younger guys. They both had the same response: “You wouldn’t say that if you really knew me.” It mildly startled me to hear this fearful, knee-jerk response from both of these two, respectable men. Of course, I wondered, “So, if don’t really know you, then what are you really like?” I could be wrong, but I seriously doubt that either of these men are privately peddling child pornography or cheating on their wives or embezzling money from their workplaces.
Introducing the Unknown Soldier
I remember the first moment I knew I loved my wife. We had been dating about a month and a half and, one day, we went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery to spend some time together.
Getting out of the Social Crib
Last Friday night, I took my baby into the kitchen of a Capitol Hill row house, put her on a changing pad on the counter, and proceeded to change her diaper. It felt awkward, but it wasn’t the diaper change alone that made it feel that way.
Sometimes the Truth (About Yourself) Hurts
One time, I told my friend Steve that I was going to ask God to humble me. Steve said, “I wouldn’t do that. Scripture says to humble yourself. You don’t want God to have to do it.” Along that vein, about a year ago, I embarked on a self-imposed, humbling journey in self-discovery in which I did interviews with five different people, asking questions that elicited mostly-negative responses about ways I could improve my impact on others.
Airing Your Dirty Laundry
I’ve made some seriously stupid mistakes, and I know I’m not alone. Remember that stupid thing you did that time? I’m not talking about your most embarrassing moment that makes for a cute story at a dinner party. I’m talking about that big kahuna mistake, the one that could take you down if you ever ran for public office.
Joshua Rogers 