Crushed

Today, we took Alex and Kaitlin to their school's Open House. They found their homerooms and met their teachers. They unloaded their supplies into their desks and spent several minutes catching up with some of their previous teachers.

While we were leaving the building, Kaitlin saw a friend of hers walking toward us in the parking lot. Kaitlin ran to meet her, shouting her name. Her friend walked out and around her, never acknowledging Kaitlin's presence. Finally, at her mother's command the girl said, "Hi."

Kaitlin didn't cry, she took it in stride. About an hour after we returned home, Kaitlin asked me why the girl didn't even smile at her. Where do I even start? We have always taught our kids to be polite and friendly, with varying success. For the most part they are. Most importantly, we have taught them to be friendly no matter how they are treated by others.

I wonder about how often we are so absorbed in our own lives, that we ignore Jesus when He comes running toward us, so full of love and excitement. Does he feel rejected and crushed like Kaitlin did today?