How Do They Sleep at Night??

Very well, I've observed over the years.

It's the rest of us who have been undone and/or amazed by a fellow human (no matter what their esteemed status) that causes us to ask this question. It might even be prefaced with a "can you believe THIS??"

Every time someone tells me about something outrageous that happened to them and concludes their diatribe with "can you believe THIS???" I always respond with the same answer: "Yep, I'm not surprised by people anymore."

Those people that have somehow trounced us that we lose sleep over are doing fine, thank you very much. They look in the mirror every day, back their cars out of the the driveway and go about their business utterly unaffacted by the harm they have left in their wake. It is all okay. Because when they look in the mirror, they are unfazed by truth. I doubt it was on their radar in the first place.

My biggest prayer for harm-causers is that they become completely aware of their role in what they inflicted upon another human being. To the point where they will become humble enough to even fess up to God and the people they have minimalized. To the point where they make restitution and change course. Keep praying for them, but don't wait for them to act in order to move forward.

Our family has experienced several versions of this question over the past few years. The good news is that we were able to get up and move on, shaking off the dust. Through God's grace, we have forgiven them. Forgetting will take a bit more time since we are still experiencing by-products in tangible ways. For the most part, they are specks in the rearview mirror.

The good news is that they have no influence and carry no weight in our lives. And even if they won't do the work to put this in proper perscpective, their lack of participation did not stop us from doing it on our own. While we have been amazed at how people proclaiming faith have behaved, it does not change our perspective about God. God is God, he just has some poor ambassadors out there.

We don't ask "why" or "how" anymore. Some things really can't be explained and I'm fine with that. I'm also more than fine with the fact that God never left us alone at any time. And I am grateful for this new chapter. The healthy way of not looking back is not to leave collateral damage and continue on the way forward.

There is always a forward, with God.

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