A weary mother returned from the store, lugging groceries through the kitchen door. Awaiting her arrival was her eight-year-old son, eager to relate what his younger brother had done.

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"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call, T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall! It's on the new paper you just hung in the den. I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."

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She let out a moan and furrowed her brow. "Where is your little brother right now?" She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride, She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide. 

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She called his full name as she entered his room. He trembled with fear - he knew that meant doom.  For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved about the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved. 

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Lamenting all the work it would take to repair, she condemned his actions and total lack of care. The more she scolded, the madder she got, then stomped from his room, totally distraught.

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She headed for the den to confirm her fears. When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears. The message she read pierced her soul with a dart. It said, "I love Mommy," surrounded by a heart. 

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Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it, with an empty picture frame hung to surround it.  It would serve as a reminder to her, and indeed to all: Take time to read the handwriting on the wall. 

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My friend, perception becomes reality in the blink of an eye.  In today's world we so often assume we have a situation fully assessed and critiqued... only to find out there are a few vital important bits of evidence.

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A person cuts you off in traffic and you easily assume they are an inconsiderate motorist.  But he/she was just informed moments before that his/her mother has stage 4 cancer and only has months to live...

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A good friend doesn't return your text messages immediately and you quickly assume they are "blowing you off."  Only to find out hours later that they were doing community service in a nursing home/hospital and couldn't have their phone on...

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I know you can personally add many other items to this list.  And that's okay; add away to the list... and then take the time to go back to those individuals and apologize. Kevin Hancock succinctly stated it:  "Apologies aren't meant to change the past, they are meant to change the future."  

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We apologize and move forward.  It is what we are called to do, my friend.  My father always had a quote he would recite to me: "See it broken."

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It took me years after his passing in 1986 to fully grasp the meaning of that powerful three-word phrase.  Nothing lasts forever.  It will tarnish, it will tatter, it will tear - no matter how much you care about it or protect.  And this, my friend, includes the loved ones in our life. By the very nature of Life, we each will tarnish, tatter and tear.  But that doesn't mean we still don't care; we simply have to see those moments, ourselves and others differently - a little older, a little more fragile - but the same cherished vessel with which we began.

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The wallpaper of our Life will be cluttered with unexpected messages, mantras and mayhem, but if we take a moment to "see it broken," we may find it is all picture-frame worthy, without any assumptions.