Baffled

I Peter 2:11-12
"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among them that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

When was the last time you caused a good eyebrow raise from someone you know? Do you handle yourself in such a way that others are baffled by your behaviour? Now, I'm not talking about dancing on a table top during a Cinco de Mayo party, or "signalling" with a certain finger when you get cut off in traffic. Rather, are your actions toward others so different than what our society is accustomed to that your friends or co-workers don't understand you at all?

It seems like displaying kindnesses and acting as Christ would want me to has caused some confusion for those around me this week. Oddly enough, both circumstances have to do with my attitude toward my former husband. You know, even though I was badly hurt by the events that led to our divorce nearly 10 years ago, I try to treat him with a fair amount of courtesy and kindness. Together we are trying to navigate the parenting of our 3 teenage children, see each other several times a week, and attend sporting events, school functions and more with our kiddos.

Well, last week he broke his ankle at a family church event with our kids. A few days later, I heard him and his wife discussing that they might need to rent a wheelchair for him to use at work since he was supposed to keep the weight off of his foot. I knew my boss owned a good wheelchair that was just collecting dust in our office, so I asked her if I could borrow it for awhile. When she wanted to know why, I told her it was for my ex husband, who had broken his ankle. She was speechless. She was stunned. All I could think at this point was, "Yep, that's Jesus... not me!" Only through the love that Christ shows me on a daily basis, could I begin to find the grace to try and be helpful to my kids' dad.

Then there was the trip to the local ice cream palace. Yep, it's really called "Brock's Ice Cream Palace". Literally cool, huh? So I took my wonderful husband and my steppies, Thomas and Megan, to Brock's for a treat last week. While we were there, I picked up a half gallon of Cookies and Cream. When we got back into the car, Kevin asked me what the half gallon of ice cream was for and I told him that I was going to take it by the kids' dad's house as a get well token for his broken ankle. Again silence. I even got a raised eyebrow and funny look. "Why?"
It almost gave me a chuckle. So the question I turn to you is "Why not?".

Aren't these examples of what true forgiveness is about? Have we forgotten that we are called to stand out in this world? To be different... to make waves with our positive behaviour... to baffle those around us with our grace, kindness, love, generosity, patience, and faith? I encourage you to get on with the confusion. Let people ask you "Why". And when they do, give them THE ANSWER! Speak the truth and let them hear the transforming good news of JESUS!

May your day be filled with Sparkle, from the inside out!