It seems “Hallmark” movies and moments are everywhere. I smiled when the pastor today spoke of Joseph and his brother’s sobs, “as if they were watching a “Hallmark” Christmas movie. This was a vibrant reminder of what I shared yesterday; most all persons understand the emotions experienced when you hear that phrase.

It’s as though Pastor Eric and I were writing from the same script, as not only did he speak of the “Hallmark” movies, but also of our hearts. Even though I shared that “if only” we knew what a person was feeling in their hearts, Pastor Eric spoke of hardened hearts. Persons with such hearts don’t rejoice or weep. They don’t love or show concern. They don’t forgive and thus don’t choose to reconcile differences or relationships. They are cold, calloused and indifferent.

What a gift it would be if we knew another’s feelings of their hearts. It would save us from some very painful and emotional circumstances in our lives. Even the mundane aspects of daily living would be different “if only” we knew. From the grumpy salesperson to the rude colleague, fellow student or even family member, “if only” we understood their heart and feelings.

Years ago, a counselor instilled in me the term and explanation of “displaced anger.” When people reacted to me in a condescending or offensive manner, realizing I had done nothing to cause such treatment, I had to step back and remind myself of those two words. It is a reminder that we never know what another is thinking or feeling. What life experience are they enduring? We are egotistical if we always believe it is about us.

Life can’t always be a “Hallmark” moment from movies, but we can certainly try to accept times of our lives as “memories to be made”, not nightmares to be relived. As I reflect on the past seven years, there have been some Goliaths; but it also caused me to accept my current situation as just “another page of life.” It would have been wonderful to have known the thoughts and feelings of my then husband’s heart. It would have saved me years of sorrow and hours of tears.   I didn’t, so now when I need to be uplifted, I dwell on “God’s Hallmark moments” of the joy and goodness He brings into my life. Ephesians 4:32, NKJ “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”