to judge is to divide . . ~|~

ran into someone last night
she's in a program, probably to detox from alcohol
while she's in there her 2 young girlchildren went to stay with their dad and his wife in another state

he called her a couple nights ago while she was in a class
she missed the call

i asked how she was doin' ..
she said she needed prayer
and her children need prayer ..
he shot himself in the head
he's dead

vet
suffering from serious ptsd

..  ..   . .    .   .

i'm aware we all have stresses
we live in our little worlds with our stresses
can't pay the bills, kids, marital issues, work issues ..

sometimes
it's a good idea to step back a bit
engage reverse gear
find a lonely shade tree
shoot the moon
breathe
settle my brain
balance .. .     .

who am i to think my issues are so dread when she mourns the loss of her ex and the tragic consequences to those girls and her own undoing of life

.. .      .

2 people living in a camper
used to be on the street
for years
did dope and stuff
slept in the bushes
pulled themselves out of the dread of meth and alcohol addiction
and struggle still to stay 'free'
older people with health problems that accompany the drug life and the homeless life
just found a place to live
a place you can actually move around in without the whole gizmo shaking and swaying ..
finally

i walked into the abandoned camper yesterday
and was amazed at the ... mess
how could anyone live in there
2 sick people who couldn't even gather the strength to clean their place

the change'll do them good ..

.. . .       .

who am i to judge ?     ?

me?
judge?

me       ?

not me  ...

got my own judgments to declare on my own self
several of them
many

..     .

a man once postulated that the original sin entombed in the image of eating from the 'treeoftheknowledgeofgoodandevil' was
presuming to stand in the place of judge
and declare good from evil
presuming to be God

there is no god but God
and i ain't God

my presumption is simply presumptuous
that i can look at another person and charge them with thisorthat ..
" how could she have gotten herself into that, what with 2 young children " ..
" how could they live in a slummess like that for so long " ..

who am i to judge ?     ?

me?
judge?

me       ?

not me  ...

mine is to accept
to embrace
without judgment
without prejudice
even as God embraces me
in Jesus

for God's sake and in Jesus' name ..