I’m sure by now everyone has realized that *gasp* I pre-wrote most of these Secretary’s Corners for while I’m away. (I know, I know…these aren’t actually the thoughts I’m having at this precise moment…)
I’m sure that has been rather evident, but it is making me think. I’m writing all these things ahead of time: you all have no idea how I’m actually doing. I could be having the best time of my life, I could be having the absolute worst time of my life – you don’t know!
Life is often like this. You see someone from the outside and make assumptions about what they are feeling. We truly have no clue what is going on in another person’s heart. This is why I always struggle to define the theological views of public figures – I can’t see their hearts. I have no idea what is happening inside them. They could be the most wholehearted Christian, or simply putting up a facade for their fanbase.
I suppose this is an encouragement to be careful to differentiate between what we know and what we have assumed about someone. We can act in ways that are really damaging to someone because we think we know best. Because yes – we all think we are right. Most of us can admit we aren’t going be right about everything, but until proven wrong, we all believe in ourselves.
To sum up all these thoughts… Check in with that person. The one who looks fine, says they’re fine…but are going through really hard times. Are they really fine? Sometimes the smallest encouragement can get you through a long day. We can trust that the small encouragements we seed into other people, while we don’t see the results, have more effect than we know. We only need to plant. Jesus will help it grow.
-Kaetrianne Ramer
