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Day 141: Love One Another!


August 2, 2020


My sister recently told me a story about a family she saw at a restaurant.  Both parents and the two children were sitting at the table together after ordering their food and all four were completely engrossed in their phone screens.  There was no conversation, no looking at each other, no interaction of any kind.  In fact, they were so oblivious to their surroundings that they barely noticed when their food came.  The mom had gone to the restroom, leaving the other three at their outdoor table.  As the dad and the kids began to eat, they never interacted or looked up from their phones.  A crow landed on their table and began to eat food off the mom’s plate.  No one noticed.  Soon the mom returned and began to eat her (germy bird) food while she stared some more at her phone.  How gross and how sad!  Perhaps the family had been on a long journey and had been talking in the car.  Maybe they were all Googling “how to bring joy to others” or looking up funny jokes to tell on the way home.  Or maybe it was just their phone addiction creeping in to steal and waste their precious family time.  None of my favorite family memories begin with, “Remember that time we were all on our phones?”.  I want to remember (and share) this story so that I won’t look back with regret and wish that I had paid attention and appreciated every opportunity I had to be with all “my people”.   People need to feel “listened to” and treasured.  One of the greatest ways we can show that we cherish others is to give them our UNDIVIDED attention, not an easy task in this modern, busy world.  I am going to pray that God will help me focus on what is most important: spending time with Him and caring for my family.  I don’t want any of my loved ones eating germy bird food.  Philippians 2:3-4 (TLB) says:  “Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing.”  John 13:34 (NIV) says:  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  Love one another!  Smile and be joyful!

A song to encourage:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t9u-LOa3OI


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