Peace on Earth for Her

I watched the news tonight. War, disease, poverty, murders, natural disasters, fire, accidents - all magnified in a season when we all want to get just the right 'feeling'.

So we give, we help, we lend a hand where we can. But, might we have forgotten someone? Someone who will never get media attention?

We forget that woman who looks okay. The one with the cute kids. The one who volunteers at school. Has a nice house. Hosts birthday parties. Drives other people's kids around. Has a husband who serves on boards. The one who smiles at you and inquires about your day.

But, inside, she's had it. She only looks okay. The kids wear her out. She's sick of being asked to do things just because people know that she cannot say NO. They shouldn't have bought that expensive of a house. The parties? She hosts so her kids will stop whining. Other people's kids seem more appreciative than hers. She smiles reflexively. Her husband is never home, and this no longer bothers her. This isn't the life she signed up for.

But everything inside is empty. That emptiness is only magnified by the Christmas holiday. You know, that holiday where mother's everywhere knock themselves out creating a picture perfect day, when the kids may only remember that it seemed their brother got better stuff. She may be stuck in tight quarters with family members all wrapped up in their own pain. She will feel invisible.

I know this is true, because I have known these women. We all know them. Who can they tell that it is all just held together by a wispy thread?

Could she tell you?

Would you really listen?

I wouldn't want to stop someone from helping out a person going through any of the devastation listed above. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who has missed helping someone because their life looked pretty good to me.

So look around. Who is that woman who is about to say 'no more'? What if your concern for her could put her on a different path?

Go find her. Better yet, ask God to put her in your path. Then just care about her. You won't believe the difference it will make. If not in her life, then, in yours.

(a rerun from last year on this date.)