"When you can be the sunshine in someone's life, or the warm rain, why would you be the cold north wind?" ~Robert Brault

Last week was special.  Jeff was in Missouri for the FC summer camp there, Ryan was playing in the Tyler golf tournament with his dad, and those two events coincided to give me the pleasure of spending the week alone with my firstborn child, who is currently 30 weeks pregnant with HER first child.  During Sarah's time here, I was blessed with several priceless moments of placing my hands on her growing belly, and feeling Lydia move, tumble, and kick.  There's a life growing inside of Sarah.  My granddaughter. Lydia is growing and moving, and while we can feel that from the outside, we cannot SEE any of it.  Yes, Sarah has had a few ultrasounds, and as a result, we know that Lydia is a girl, and have seen images of her form.  But things like her hair color and eye color, and her family resemblances remain a mystery for now.  There's a lot going on in there that we just cannot see in spite of Sarah's expanding waistline.

Sarah and Ryan left, and Jeff returned home from camp with a sore, swollen and bruised arm.  If you know Jeff, you know of his love for volleyball.  Apparently, he did not hold back during the annual counselor/camper game, as he sacrificed his body to save a ball from going out (plowing over a kid in the process - my apologies to that boy's parents!).  Jeff landed awkwardly on that arm, and it has continued to cause him trouble for almost a week now.  And while we could see some evidence of damage on the outside - bruising, swelling, and a few scabs - we could not see what was happening inside his arm.  He could feel the pain, but I only knew of that by what he told me, or as I saw him grimace.  So, yesterday afternoon, he went for an x-ray.  Fortunately, he doesn't have any broken bones, just soft tissue damage.  But it took that special view to the inside in order to know that for sure. *(UPDATE:  After the radiologist read the x-ray this morning, it appears he has a radial fracture after all - sometimes it takes a REALLY close, professional look inside!)

Just like Jeff saw the inside of his arm yesterday, I saw some of my insides, too.  I had a barium swallow test, which involved drinking and eating barium-laden beverage and food items of varying consistencies while some health-care professionals watched those tasty morsels travel through my mouth, down my throat, and into my stomach.  They let me see those images as well.  Fascinating stuff!  I don't know about you, but when I eat, I think very little about the food once it leaves my mouth.  But it continues its journey, traveling through my body sight unseen.  Only as I have trouble with that process must I investigate further, looking beneath the surface.

Yesterday, as I sat in the admitting office of Trinity Mother Frances Hospital registering for that test, I saw this sign on the desk of the lady who was signing me in . . .

Inside battles.  Quiet suffering.  Unseen struggles.  We've all been there.  The hidden, hard things that no one knows about.  Perhaps it's disease.  Or loneliness.  A struggle with temptation, or maybe a difficult friend or family member.  And like the functioning parts inside of our bodies, we often do not know of the struggles of others because we are not able to see inside. 

It took time, effort and money to see inside of Sarah's womb, Jeff's arm, and my digestive tract.  But we did those things, because it was important to know what was going on in there.  Maybe I need to make that same kind of time, effort, and expense to look inside of others to help them with internal struggles.  If I am perceptive enough to notice the "bruises" and "grimaces," maybe I will look a little deeper.  

That starts with building relationships.  Quit looking at your phone, get off of Facebook, and get to know people.  Be more inclusive.  Yes, I have my friends, and you have yours, but am I actively getting to know people - especially in my local spiritual family - so that I can encourage and help with the things that are hurting them on the inside?  And not just helping with the hurts, but encouraging their growth as I celebrate their successes.  Do I interact with people of all ages, seeking to know them - REALLY know them?

I have heard from several people of various ages in different stages of life over the past few months that they often feel left out.  Lonely.  Am I contributing to those feelings in them?  Or am I seeking to be kind to everyone as I try to be part of the healing and not the hurt?  If I have a close-knit family living in the same town, do I actively seek to include those who may not enjoy that blessing?  If I have close friends in the same location, do I seek to broaden that circle by inviting others who might be lonely to share in those fun times?  Do people feel welcomed in my presence?  Is my home an open place where people feel comfortable?  I think most of us do not intentionally leave people out - we just don't think!  We don't look for those bruises and scabs that might clue us in that a tough battle might be brewing inside.  

I like what George Washington Carver wrote:  "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these."  You see, we will all be there at some point in life.  And I hope when I am, that you will be perceptive enough to look inside of me with kindness, as you seek to help me fight my battle.  I'll work harder at doing the same for you.  We are all in this together - let's apply Ephesians 4:32 in every relationship in life!  I have no doubt we will be blessed as we look deeply inside of each other to recognize those battles and seek to help.  

Be kind.  Be perceptive.  Be open and friendly.  Be inclusive.  Look deeply beneath the surface.  Let's all be someone who helps and heals.

"Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again." ~Og Mandino