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What about her?



Raising three daughters (and one son) was a challenging blessing beyond any joy Frank and I could ever have imagined.  Occasionally that "blessing beyond joy" was withheld down to a bare stick... absent of joy and filled with misery.  As they/we navigated teenage years (16 straight teenage years including Clay), seldom did a week make it to Friday without three powerful familiar words,

"THIS isn't fair!"  

or an occasional

"THAT'S not fair!"

Now that three-word emphatic reality spoke volumes about their perspective on any given situation.

Truth is... it "fit" many situations.

Why does she get to go to bed later than I do?
That's not fair!
She got to ride her bike past the top of our street and down another, and I can't.
That's not fair!
He got ice cream after dinner, and I didn't.
This isn't fair!
I made my bed and didn't receive any extra allowance.
That's not fair!
She said very mean words to me, and all I did was respond,
This isn't fair!

I could go on and on and on.  No, seriously, on and on and on.  My mom would likely agree with me as she and my dad raised my two sisters and me - on and on and on.

"Fairness" - at least their interpretation of it, became the measuring stick of choice.  The challenge with the conversation was the need for another to be compared to for the lack of fairness to be charged.  The exclamatory,
"THIS isn't fair!" 
 was most often followed by, 
"What about her?"

My daughters weren't the only ones concerned about fairness or the "what about her" question, are they?  It has permeated our society, our friendships, and our families.  

Comparing our lives..
comparing our dreams...
comparing our expectations...
comparing our everyday moments...


Does it encourage you to know that we're not the first to ask those three word questions?  

How often have I heard it said, 
"if only we had walked alongside Jesus on the earth, we'd follow HIM so closely without question."
"if only we had been close to Jesus and heard Him teach, we'd never question HIS authority"
"if only we had seen with own eyes the healing of a blind man, we'd have unshakable faith"

And there they were.  Jesus had come, walked with them, taught them, prepared them, and then completed God's plan of redemption as He died and rose from the grave in victory.  Several of the disciples has gone fishing, and Jesus appeared on the shore.  After an intense conversation with Peter reminding him of Jesus' call to care for the sheep God had entrusted to him, Peter realized John was nearby.

When Peter saw him [John], he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” John 21:21-22

Jesus response was clear and concise: You stay focused on what I've ask you to do:  Follow me.

I know I would added a bit of additional commentary:
Don't worry about:
 what anyone else has,
what anyone else does,
what anyone else posts,

Follow MY path for you.

Dear Father,
Guide us in Your ways.  Remind us that Your word is a lamp unto our feet, and (THE) light to our path.

Amen

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