Busted

When I was in high school, I got busted by the Red Bank police and had to spend a night in jail. There it is for all of you to read ... I did time in the big house. My crime? I was with a group of friends who were throwing snowballs at cars. I didn't actually throw the snowballs, I just made them and handed them to the guys and they threw them. It didn't matter, though, that my arm didn't wing the snowballs, I was an accomplice to criminal activity. None of the cars were damaged, and no one had an accident because of the snowballs. But someone got ticked and called the police on us, and then we did something really smart ... we tried to run ... we never stopped to think that we were leaving a very distinct trail in the snow. Guess where we were when we got busted? At the church's teen hangout, of course. Yep, the Red Bank cops came into the Red Bank Baptist coffee house and arrested us ... that was fun for sure. One more thing ... I was the only one who had to spend the night in jail. While all the other kids' parents came and picked them up, my dad thought I would learn more by having to spend the night than by going home. And he was right ... this jailbird has never spent another night in jail, and I don't ever intend to.

It's funny which events from my youth I remember so well, the ones that taught me the biggest life lessons. I'm sure that Daddy had a lot to say to me that night and in the days that followed about my behavior, but the dialogue with him that I remember most was this ... "Did you throw any snowballs?" "No, I just made them." "So then you were a part of it, right?" "I guess so." "You may not be guilty of throwing the snowballs, but you are guilty of not doing the right thing and walking away. I'll pick you up in the morning." And he left ... he left me in the Red Bank jail to ponder my actions and accept my guilt. And guess what? Getting busted by my dad for not doing the right thing was much, much worse than getting busted by the Red Bank cops for making the snowballs that were lobbed at the passing cars ... much, much worse.

Today, I got busted by someone about what I posted last night in response to my anonymous commenter. She reminded me that I choose to write this blog and put it out there for everyone to read, and therefore, I have to be willing to accept all the commentary, positive or negative, that comes my way in response to what I write. She encouraged me to have a more open mind on how others perceive what I write, and she suggested that perhaps I should pray more about my own responses and make sure that I don't offer up a knee-jerk reaction when my feelings get hurt or my heart gets stung by the words of others. And guess what? She's totally right. She's totally right, and I'm totally busted and guilty as charged. And guess what else? I'm so very thankful that God put her in my life to love me and challenge me and call me out. You know who you are, and I hope you know how much I love you.

All day as I've thought about her words and prayed about whether to continue writing this blog ... trying to decide if what I write is helping or harming those of you who read along ... thinking about how strongly I have felt called to put myself out there ... a verse from Ephesians has been pounding in my head. I'm going to close with that verse, but I'd also like to ask you guys to weigh in ... and I'd like to ask you to be honest, gut honest ... do I continue to pen this blog, or do I stop?

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29