BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDONS Lent Devotion #43

Related Scripture:  Romans 15:1

REFLECTION: It takes a village to raise a child is wisdom. Parents cannot be all-seeing, all-knowing, omnipresent.
One Sunday morning I meandered to my window to enjoy the playing of two young boys whose voices wafted through my open window Instead I found something frightening! They were playing "chicken" with big trucks speeding down the hill in front of the church parsonage where I lived.
It was not my business. Right? I was in no condition to do anything in my robe and curlers. Right? I had to be at church in 15 minutes, so I didn’t have time to act. Right?
Wrong! I went downstairs, onto my porch and called the eight year olds over, recognizing one who was a neighbor.
I lectured them. What you are doing is dangerous. Do you want me to have to call the ambulance when you misjudge a truck and got hit? One mother saw her son squashed under the wheels of a garbage truck. Do you want your moms to see you that way? You quit this game, go home and never play it again! And no, I won't promise not to tell your parents. I will think about what to do.
Meanwhile, church members walked by, seeing me in my robe and rollers yelling at two young boys.
I was never asked about it. I did report the incident to the one boys mother because what she didn't know might hurt her son in the future.
It takes a village to raise a child. Bear one another's burdens.
PRAYER: Lord, never let me forget that my primary duty in life is to fulfill the law of Christ, to love my neighbor so much that their safety overrides my need for propriety. Amen.                ----written by Carolyn