{"id":9189,"date":"2017-02-21T12:45:24","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T18:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/?p=9189"},"modified":"2017-02-21T12:45:24","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T18:45:24","slug":"parking-lot-life-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/parking-lot-life-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Parking Lot Life Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome Hartlee Kirk<\/a> back to Hungry For More. We love it when you visit us with your insights, Hartlee!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"hartlee\"<\/a><\/p>\n

——————-<\/p>\n

“The law declares it a crime. The woman had violated\u00a0this law; therefore, she was at fault. As she hastily loaded Target bags into her suburban,\u00a0the man wearing the polo shirt seemed determined to point this out.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou just have no idea!\u201d<\/em> the woman\u00a0sternly replied from her spot designated ‘Handicap Parking Only’. He prodded\u00a0and harassed, while she finally hoisted the Graco stroller into the trunk.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“You just\u00a0have no idea!”<\/em> I knew the feeling.\u00a0I passed by\u00a0this\u00a0exchange clutching\u00a0a\u00a0five-month-old in one hand while\u00a0digging for keys with the other. The heaviness of my own plastic bags cut into my wrist, preventing circulation flow.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“As I started my car, I pondered: What had her day been like? Was someone in her family sick? Was this her fifth errand of the day? Had her children\u00a0already\u00a0had a meltdown in the checkout line? Was her husband not able to help? Was she single? Was she hurting?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“No one knew except her.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Frustrated Mom, I understand. My husband\u00a0and I have regularly experienced\u00a0two-week separation. I’ve functioned as a single-parent\u00a0half of the month, while he’s worked\u00a0offshore. Time made <\/span>the struggle more<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>bearable, but it was never easy.\u00a0<\/span>I too have\u00a0experienced<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>combined levels of anxiety, loneliness, and exhaustion. When\u00a0<\/span>someone took eight seconds to hold a door as I<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>clambered through with a\u00a0bulky stroller, they became my<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>hero.\u00a0<\/span>
\nHumanity needs more heroes\u00a0and less critics.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“That man outside of Target that day helped the situation in zero ways. His<\/span>\u00a0words cut without mending; hurt without healing<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“She was guilty of parking with no sticker; he was guilty of barking\u00a0with\u00a0no grace.<\/span>
\n\u201cHow can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your<\/span>\u00a0eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?…\u00a0T<\/span>ake the plank out of your own eye, and then you will<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s\u201d<\/em> (<\/span>Matthew 7:4-5).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Interestingly, last week I had the pleasure of an\u00a0opposite experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“With\u00a0Anderson on my left hip, I slid the last box of groceries into the trunk.\u00a0As I <\/span>pulled the rear door<\/span>\u00a0down, I noticed<\/span>\u00a0a<\/span>\u00a0car waiting for my parking spot. Rushing<\/span>\u00a0to make my space\u00a0available, I\u00a0bumped Anderson\u2019s head with the hatchback<\/span>. Thankfully it was a mild incident without a scratch, bump, or<\/span>\u00a0bruise, but resulting in\u00a0tears since he was\u00a0<\/span>overdue a nap.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the worst mom ever,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0I thought as I embraced my baby<\/span>\u00a0chest-to-chest in an effort to comfort and calm us both. As the\u00a0<\/span>man in his sixties\u00a0walked<\/span>\u00a0towards me, I assumed he was either going to lecture<\/span>\u00a0or criticize.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“With gentleness, he calmly asked \u201cIs there some way I can help you?\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/span>Then, clasping the cart handle with his weathered\u00a0hands, he rumbled\u00a0the rickety wheels<\/span>\u00a0across the concrete<\/span>. I barely uttered \u201cThank you so much\u201d<\/em> before my hero was<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>out of sight, unaware of the impact his simple kindness made.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“He could have criticized my judgement in the same manner as the man in the<\/span>\u00a0previous story. \u00a0<\/span>But instead, he chose grace. He saw a flustered mom<\/span>\u00a0and made the decision to reflect<\/span>\u00a0kindness and helpfulness. He too “had no idea.”\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>and in truth”<\/em> (<\/span>1 John 3:18).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Sometimes the obedience to love feels uncomfortable. It may mean\u00a0<\/span>asking a stranger if you can help. It can feel scary, awkward, and<\/span>\u00a0even insignificant. Pride is often the tallest hurdle to overcome in<\/span>\u00a0an opportunity to show kindness. But when your mind defies the<\/span>\u00a0gravity of self-tendencies and launches forward, it allows your<\/span>\u00a0feet to land\u00a0next to a person needing grace.<\/span>\u00a0When we look away from our own assumptions, we<\/span>\u00a0will likely notice a crowd desperate for love<\/span>\u00a0in action.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Before criticizing, <\/span>ask \u201cWhen have I felt, acted, or spoken in a<\/span>\u00a0similar way?\u201d Difficult days come to everyone; we are all in need of<\/span>\u00a0grace. Jesus extends grace on a regular basis due to daily, hourly,<\/span>\u00a0and minute-by-minute shortcomings. When we mirror His grace in our<\/span>\u00a0response to others, we preach the gospel with our actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Choose for today: will you be a quick critic, or an unsung hero<\/span>\u00a0bearing the cape of kindness?”<\/span><\/p>\n

——————————–<\/p>\n

Hartlee’s delightful little Anderson, who has\u00a0wavering opinions about shopping:<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5007\"<\/a>\"IMG_5011\"<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome Hartlee Kirk back to Hungry For More. We love it when you visit us with your insights, Hartlee!   ——————- “The law declares it a crime. The woman had violated\u00a0this law; therefore, she was at fault. As she hastily loaded Target bags into her suburban,\u00a0the man wearing the polo shirt seemed determined to point this out.   \u201cYou just … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[358],"tags":[850,313,993,787,697],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9189"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9189\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}