I flipped a guy off the other day.
I was at a four-way stop, and I let the person in front of him go, and then I proceeded (as you do), and for some reason, this caused him great disgust. He flailed his arms and screamed into his windshield and stared angrily into my eyes.
That's when it happened.
I flipped him the old bird and held it eye-level as I passed through the intersection, just to make sure he got a good look at it. A few moments later, I glanced into the rearview to see if he had decided to alter his course and follow me home. He hadn't. But as I was looking in the mirror, I caught my own reflection, and that's when I noticed my hat.
More precisely, I noticed the two words stitched across the front:
Love Anyway
It's a reminder to love people even when it's hard, when they rub you the wrong way, or even seek to do you harm. It's a powerful message, one I believe in deeply. But there I was doing the exact opposite.
I felt a ping of shame. Then I just laughed and shook my head.
Human beings are strange.
We believe one way and behave another.
We demand of others what we can't manage ourselves.
We want things easy but make things harder than they need to be.
We flash messages of hate while wearing messages of love. (Ha!)
We're a bunch of flesh-covered contradictions.
This creates so many problems for us, but it's also what makes us great. The bug is also a feature. Think about it.
We let strangers cut in traffic.
We forgive people who don't deserve it.
We make each other laugh in the face of tragedy.
And we keep going when giving up is the only thing that makes sense.
We're a mess. Miles from perfect. But we're filled with irrational goodness.
So, give yourself some grace. And the next time someone flips you off in traffic, try not to judge them too harshly—I'm sure (not so) deep down, they're really quite loving.
I’d love to know how you see it. Join me in the comments!
This made me smile and serves as a great reminder. Extending grace to others is way easier than giving it to myself. Practice, practice, practice!