Sometimes you just don’t see things coming. Your day is clicking along at a reasonable pace, you’re productive, there’s no real drama, and you end it up with a nice meal.

Or so you think.

Until you get home from said meal and you’re slammed with months’ worth of drama in a single blow to the head, crazy anger and conflict from people who won’t work things out, willing to trade in many years of good just so they can be right. It’s dizzying, spinning you around to the point of disorientation.

Not a great way to fall asleep (and I use the word “sleep” loosely).

I have been known to refer to this world as whackadoodle, but I realize in the writing of it that I’m not talking about the world, at all. I’m talking about the people in it. WE are the whackadoodle ones, blustering through this life with a fierce self-focus, often not considering that when we are looking at ourselves we can’t really see where we’re going. We’re gazing into the mirror and mowing people down in the process, but we really don’t care because, hey, it’s all about us.

Until we’re the ones getting mowed down.

Until we have heel marks all over us, and some gum stuck to our shirt.

Then, THEN, we see how it all really works and maybe, if we’re really lucky, we think to put the mirror down. We’re a little more careful to keep our eyes out, and UP, so we have a good, clear view of where we’re going, considering where we leave our own heel marks, for a change.

And maybe, just maybe, when we’re hit out of the blue by incoming whackadoodle, our response becomes anything but.

“If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” Philippians 2:1-4 MSG