We were supposed to get between 2 and 4 inches of snow last night and this morning. Nashville residents responded the only way they know how and raided local grocery stores. Bread, milk, and eggs have all disappeared within a 30-mile radius. (I mean, how long did they think we’d be snowed in, without access to food, from just a couple of inches on the ground?! And how bored will your palate get if all you have to eat are milk, bread, and eggs anyway? If you have electricity, I guess you could make French toast, regular toast, scrambled eggs, eggs in a basket, bread pudding, and an interesting breakfast option my dad likes to serve when we’re sick called “milk toast.” My mom maintains that it’s disgusting. I prefer to stay neutral in this debate. But I digress. Any way you look at it, there aren’t a lot of options if those are your only ingredients. Yummy soup sounds better, right?)
So when I looked out my window this morning and saw that there was no white stuff on the ground and that traffic was moving normally, I was disappointed but not surprised. Weather forecasters aren’t exactly known for their snow prediction accuracy around here. But ever since a big snowstorm hit Nashville a few years ago (and mostly without warning, from what I understand), local residents have become a little jumpy when it comes to winter weather.
I guess I’d be the same way. Once bitten, twice shy. I understand that and am that way in other areas of my life. I’m a little jumpy when it comes to my car because I’ve had one die on me before. I’m also a little jumpy about sharing things because I have friends who’ve ruined belongings of mine because they don’t take care of things like I do. My point is, people behave strangely. But they usually have reasons for it. Rather than judging, I should seek to understand the motive for their behavior. As I try to forgive my fellow Nashvegans for swiping all the “necessities” from the grocery stores, I also need to let the lesson sink in elsewhere.
For instance, don’t judge a girl in your small group who refuses to speak up, even when you ask her a question directly. Maybe she’s been told at home that she’s stupid and what she says is laughable. Don't look down on the girl who is always talking. Maybe she’s eagerly looking for approval. That girl who desperately tries to not get any paint on her clothes while your youth group paints an elderly woman’s home? While you may be thinking she doesn’t want to work, in reality, she’s been chewed out by her dad for “ruining” her clothes before.
Look for the background story. Trying to understand why people act the way they do may bring you closer than you imagined. All of our girls have back stories that explain why they act the way they do. How many of your girls’ back stories do you know?
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