Something happened yesterday.

I woke up with Mother’s Day posts from both of my girls, and my mom, on Facebook. Lovely pictures and words that filled up my tank, speaking my love language. I put up some pictures myself, about my mom, mother-in-law, and daughter, doing my best to reciprocate. Then I started reading my newsfeed.

Wow.

One after another, after another, after another…old and current pictures…sweet words of edification, extolling the praises of mothers everywhere, their children rising up to call them blessed. They remembered the good. They spoke life instead of death, and gratitude was in abundance. It was breathtaking.

You know, I’ve been on social media for several years, now; I’m certainly not new to the scene. I’ve seen the political rants, the constant litany of complaints, and comment threads that begin with a tight politeness and quickly escalate to heated differences of opinion that have nothing at all to do with the person who originally posted the combustible statement. I’ve seen people “de-friend” others over ridiculous things, and enough high drama play out on the screen to interest the voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Sometimes it’s enough to make me want to deactivate my account and shut my computer.

But I haven’t, and you know why?

Because of days like yesterday.

Because I’ve seen what can happen when people lift each other up. When they post love and praise. When they splash positivity all over the Internet and some gets on you and me.

I was different yesterday for having read those posts. People I don’t even know that well, or maybe not at all, affected me in a positive way through their love for someone else. Even though their words weren’t about me, they filled my tank, right along with the words that were.

Yes, something happened yesterday.

Across the board, people loved one another, making an exponential difference, which is fascinating to me because that right there? It’s the second of the two most important commandments, according to Christ: Love God and Love one another. What I saw yesterday was what could happen every single day if we all followed that commandment with every breath.

Will you? Will I?

I hope so.

I’d love nothing more than to start tomorrow’s post with, “Something happened yesterday…”

 

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:36-38 ESV

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34 ESV

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” Romans 12:10 ESV