No Excuses

During a long drive home from a city about 5 hours away, I was feeling quite exhausted and noticed myself getting a bit impatient with my husband. I can tell when my "emotional bank" has been depleted and I'm running on "empty".

The night before had not been restful for me. My mind was racing ahead to events scheduled to happen in the next month and I was overwhelmed by what needed to be accomplished. Plenty of reasons to justify my actions.

But I heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit among the clamour of my thoughts. "There are no excuses to respond in an unloving way."

I thought of toddlers who are irritable when they are tired. They get out of control. They do not have the maturity to control their physical responses. They are without boundaries.

Even in the most exhausting of situations we must respond with grace and love. We cannot tear people apart and put them down just because WE are tired.

It might be the most difficult task of all. To reach deep down inside for that last remaining bit of mercy and then extend it toward our fellow brother or sister. This is what God expects us to do. Being tired and exhausted, having a bad day - these are not excuses. We must be accountable for every word we say , every deliberate and hurtful action.

More than ever, during these "low times", our words need to be encouraging and inspiring. We must fight for the "good" within us. Our thoughts must be more focused on those around us than ourselves.