You Never Know

Yesterday I walked through a home that had been devastated by flood waters a couple months ago. If you looked closely you could see the water line that showed just how high the waters rose. The crew was already repairing it and replacing things that were ruined and honestly, if you did not know what that house had gone through, you would never have known just how bad it really was.
I began to think of relationships and conversations that I have with people everyday. Many of them have been in floods of turmoil. They have been emotionally and verbally abused, uncared for and overwhelmed by rising tides of pain and struggle. And to be honest, many times I make judgments about them and decisions without ever considering what they have been through or are going through. In fact, when you see them you would never know just how bad it had been.
God is love and God gives peace. Peace in the midst of storms. Sometimes we look for that peace like valuable objects lost under water but if we keep looking, we always find it. Sometimes you have to wait for the tide to go back out to see what was missing. fact is, the tide always goes back out.
I wonder how many people I have talked to and gone away from while making judgments in my own mind without ever really knowing just what they have been going through? Aren't we supposed to love each other and show each other that we care? How about you? Have you failed to consider that just maybe that friend is putting their life back together and they need help and not criticism?
When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Bible tells us that God raises up a standard against that flood. He lifts people up out of the trouble. He takes us to a higher place. And many times He uses people like you to help! Be sensitive, be loving and don't be quick to judge. You never know what may have been going on.