you just never know

Today's lesson. Less judging others, more praying for them.

I mean, hypothetically speaking, if you ever happen to hear a woman yelling at her child at the community pool, pray for her. Because you might not know that earlier that day, that same child and his mom had already spent all of their patience and obedience and stress tolerance at the doctors office during an unexpected hour and a half wait. Or that they were maxed out on their threshold of stress for that day, and every day before that for several months bc of whatever reason. Or that having reached their threshold, they then went past it when they were met with the disappointment of first world problems like the whirlpool and fountains not being turned on at said community pool until the very moment after the mom said it was time for her child to get out. And that the mom was trying to corral 3 other children to the car. And that moments later, that same mom would be apologizing to her kids.

So when you see that kid throw a fit, don't judge. Pray. And when you hear that mom lose her cool and in a moment of fearful anger call her kid a jerk and yell at him to stop it, don't judge. Pray.

Because you don't know what that mom and child have been through that day, or what they're headed home to. And you don't know when that mom and child might be you.