Most challenging...

to me is the beginning sentence of Matthew 7. "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged." It's so easy to fall into the mindset of seeing only the logs in other peoples eyes, and thinking we have barely a splinter in our own. Of course, we don't see it this way with people we love, but think of someone you really have a bone to pick with. Then it seems more likely that we see the problems as theirs without our own role in it. I connected this teaching from chapter 7 to the chapter 13 parable of the weeds amond the wheat. The workers immediately wanted to pull up the weeds from the wheat, but the master said, hold off. The master determines the what is weed, what is wheat, when it gets pulled, and what is done with it, not the workers. This is a good reminder, as I think of the conversations I've had with people where either I or they have said, "If I was the President, I would do this..." or "If I was in charge of that program, I would do that..." and how confident we are that we'd do something much better than the actual person trying to do the work. Some days we need the mantra, "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged."

-Melanie

p.s. Safe travels tonight with this next round of snow!