salty

a week or two ago i was having a conversation, and asked how someone was doing. the response was that he was "very salty" right now. and he had reason to be - everyone around him had what he wanted, and what he wanted wasn't there for him.

and it got me thinking. and it got me praying.

now, i'd be lying if i told you that i'm a huge prayer warrior. all too often my prayers are sad leftovers at the end of the day before i drift off to sleep. however, this particular situation had me praying hard.


christians often think of saltiness as a good thing because we usually think about it in the context of salt and light. but that's not what i'm referring to, and for some reason that descriptor stuck with me. it's the biting form of salty. the type of salty where you get so much salt rubbed in your wound that you start spitting out ocean water.

it's coarse. harsh. overpowering.

it's something we often attribute to people instead of situations. but the thing is, we don't know what other people are going through.

sometimes, sure. but most of the people we interact with - directly or indirectly - on a daily basis have no idea what the status of our heart is. nor do we know the status of their heart or life or what situation they are living in.

and i often live so much at the center of my own world, that i refuse to think they may have a very good reason for the saltiness.

she may be like me just over a year ago - the sight of my baby boy may only remind her of something she desperately wants that constantly eludes her. the sight of my wedding ring may remind him how much he wants to be married, and have a family of his own. or it may remind her of the husband who left, or passed away.

you never know what triggers something for someone. and it's easy to assume the worst about other people. it's basically our default setting. repay rudeness with rudeness. repay attitude with attitude. repay offensiveness with offensiveness. repay salty with salty.

what jesus asks us to do goes against every fiber of our humanness --
turn the other cheek.
repay evil with good.
love those who persecute you.

love people anyway. love the unloveable. pray to see the world through the eyes of christ.
the simplicity is striking, and yet so difficult.

how would it change your daily perspective to see people as christ does? would it change your perspective?

yes, we live in a hurting and broken world. yes, that pain is real and it is deep.
but take heart, he has overcome the world!

xo,

katie