Conviction.

   When I wake up in the morning, typically before anyone else, I start coffee. After coffee is started, I like to enjoy quiet time. And by "quiet time" I mean check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social media sites such as that. Sometimes online news articles. Pray. I sometimes answer emails related to our businesses, but I preferably wait until after the caffeine sets in.

   Anyway, today, I was reading a friends post about school being open, not closed like yesterday or something like that. Somewhere along the line, someone took a conversation and progressed to the point of accusing a city worker driving a snow plow of PURPOSELY plowing in a disabled veteran. Now, I take issue to this on a couple different levels. A: As someone who has limited, but at least SOME knowledge about city endeavors, I know full well that city workers don't know who lives at every single address they drive that plow by. Thats completely asinine. As if they have a map of disabled Veterans (or disabled or handicapped people in general,) and drive around trying to plow them in. For giggles.  And B: It bothers me as a decent human being. Because what that person is really saying is that he sees someone struggling, knows that they have a need, but then sits back and points fingers and says "look this guy needs help, no ones helping, its the city's fault. Someone needs to help this person out. Its someones fault." Anyone else see a problem here?? Notice anything about this way of thinking?? 

   You know when you see a need that needs met, and it hurts you, makes you sad, pulls at your heart? Its conviction. Its your mind saying, you need to do something about this. Don't just sit back and loudly announce someone needs help. Thats so silly. Help them yourself! 

An example: 
When you see your elderly neighbor struggle to get her garbage can out to the road, do you go inside on Facebook and say "Oh boy, I had to watch my poor neighbor drag her 60 pounds of trash to the road this morning, she fell and I thought her hip was probably broke. She finally made it back, but it was hard to watch. I can't believe there isn't someone out there to help that poor old lady! Something has to be done to help her!" !?! DING DING DING that person is all of us, the village they say it takes to raise up children and support one another. That person to help was you. And you didn't. You don't get to blame anyone else. (To be fair, there are many times that a person simply CANT manage to come to someone's aid, whether physical or financial. Thats not really this point of this post.) This post is about people who are in a position where they saw a need, could have helped, but instead blamed and complained. Which, last time I checked, never solved anything anyway. If you see a struggle and don't/won't help, then keep your mouth shut. 

Or, If you see a woman with 2 rowdy kids and a screaming baby struggling to load up the conveyer belt at the grocery store, why not ask if she minds if you help her unload her cart to help her out? Probably more helpful than huffing and puffing behind her because its taking so long, or tweeting about how women shouldn't bring their screaming brats in public. See where Im going with this? Remember that Ghandi quote we've all posted when we were feeling all inspirational before about being the change you want to see in the world? Well, maybe try acting on that once in a while. And if you can't or don't want to, no problem. You do you. I won't judge you. But if you don't help and sit on the side and gripe, I WILL judge you. Big time. 

Mommy.