The Yellow Door Life

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with the flash of a memory from decades ago?

My sleeping habits have been anything but normal since I became a teacher, so that is one area of my health I keep trying to correct, especially now that I’m living in an apartment without the distraction of several dogs. 

I always figure though if I wake up in the middle of the night, it is for a reason. 

Over the last few days, I keep flashing back to the memory of the very first car accident I was in with my mom and best friend. 

I suppose this event is significant in my life because it was one of the first physical traumas I ever endured. 

It was the last day I ever saw my childhood best friend.

It was the first time I ever faced my mother’s mortality, as she was taken away in an ambulance to be checked for injuries at the hospital. 

It was one of the first times that I can recall my plans being completely hijacked by another person’s free will. 

It’s an event that changed the course of my life, but does it define it? Why am I waking up in the middle of the night trying to recall everything that happened that day, nearly 30 years later?

If anything, I think it is simply the reminder that we have wounds that run deeper than we realize, and we all have them.

Every day we walk passed people who may be behind on bills, who just lost a family member, who struggle with singleness, who worry about letting go, who can’t figure out what comes next, and the list goes on and on endlessly. 

Each person on this planet carries wounds, fresh and aged. We react to stimuli differently because of these wounds, which can often cause people to react then in equally accepting or rejecting ways. 

As I explore a new place, and encounter new people, I find that it is important for me to remember this important fact about wounds. 

The next person I hold the door for may need someone to smile at them more than anything else in that moment. 

We are all presented with these opportunities constantly, yet most people blow through their day as if the earth was created for them alone. 

I encourage all of you to show kindness to someone today that you encounter and see if that changes your mood, and theirs. 

We all carry more than we would like to, but sometimes it is another person acknowledging our presence and value which allows that load to become more bearable. 

Dear Lord, today I pray for everyone who is carrying a burden that they feel is too big for them. Please give them renewed strength and purpose as they navigate their current circumstances. I also ask Lord that you please send them someone, whether it be a loved one or stranger, to show them kindness in a way that they need it most. Amen.

❤