I love words! Apart from monotonous whining or mundane dribble, words excite me. I love words so much that when discipling our kids as teens I would put them into a coma as I worded them to death about the dangers of their actions.

Isn’t it exciting when you are impacted by a quote, something powerful yet simple? One of our sons, another writer and lover of quotes, sent this zinger to me last year, which made complete sense after years of frustration with people. Imagine that!

“Life is a heck of a lot simpler when you stop expecting you from other people.”

It was revolutionary when he told me. I wanted to scream- YES! So, that’s been my problem all these years! What? Someone isn’t going to go out of their way to help me when it is inconvenient. Christians are only sometimes going to try to be Christ-like. People aren’t always going to give a flying rip if I only have a brief window of time to get something done, but they’re on a break. This explains everything! It also presupposes I am all of the above at times myself.

I know me…well, mostly. I go the extra mile and out of my way for someone else. I try to think about what someone might enjoy food wise or appreciate my helping with, and I actually stop when leaving if someone needs me. (That, however, gets me in trouble on the other end.) Occasionally, I am okay with being inconvenienced if it will help someone else. This isn’t necessarily true or possible for everyone. You may read this and think this woman has no boundaries. 

Yeah, that’s the catchword of the decade. Boundaries are acceptable EXCEPT when it is you that needs something.

As I age and have entered the sunset of my life, (I am not sure who coined that ridiculous phrase) truth be told, I’m in denial of being unable to do cartwheels phase. If I worked at it, I could make those happen too, but enter the other stage; who cares, why bother!

As an aging American, I frequently commiserate by starting sentences with, “Back in the day…” Oh, the good ol’ days indeed. Sure, things moved slower, appliances had dials, cars didn’t drive themselves, and it was safe to play outside until dark. People appeared to care more about one another and were willing to be inconvenienced to lend aid to a neighbor without assuming they were serial killers.

Fr. Mike Schmitz once said in a sermon that in the Garden of Eden, Satan wasn’t trying to make atheists out of Adam and Eve; instead, he was trying to make skeptics. Talk about sinister! Look at the success of that diabolical endeavor! Who hasn’t grown in doubt and skepticism in this modern age? I’m guilty, and we all inherited this tendency. Who can I trust is speaking the truth, presenting themselves accurately, or reaching out to me in a genuine need? Add to the mix A-I robo-callers sounding like real people. Yesh!

What is the solution to all this, because I’m well aware that the good ol’ days had their own monsters too. Where can we look to help distinguish truth from lies and good from evil? Where have the most significant and most worthy quotes come from? How can we begin to eliminate skepticism from our hearts? The Holy Scriptures, of course. It’s the most quoted book of all time! It is there where we will find His Word. Jesus reminds us, ‘I am the way, and the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6) His truth is the truth and will resonate deep in our hearts. We will recognize it when we hear it, feel it in our bones, and know it when we see it. For all the skepticism that has muddied the water since creation, we need only go to the source of truth, and his truth will set us free.

If there has been a quote that has particularly impacted you, please share it in the comments.

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