What are you highlighting?
I spent some time at the ER this morning, getting tested and scanned because of a breathing issue I'm having (happy news is they ruled out all of the scary stuff and determined that it's just inflammation. <wipes brow with relief>).
Knowing how these visits can go, I brought a book along with me that I've been studying for a big work project. My nurse walked in as I was studying and marking the pages, and asked, "What kinds of things do you highlight?" (Isn't that a fantastic question?) She then went on to explain that, growing up, they were always told to highlight/annotate, but she noticed that every person marked different things.
Reflecting on the experience, I'm realizing that her observation extends much deeper than just some highlighted passages on a page.
As we go through our shared experiences in life -- in marriage, parenthood, work, church, community engagements, etc., each of us notices and values different parts more than others, and we each glean unique lessons. This doesn't make me smarter, wiser, or more observant than you; it just makes us different people. And the cool thing is -- if we connect and collaborate, you and I can actually take 2 lessons from the same exact "passage" in life, instead of just 1. And if we open our circle even bigger, those lessons multiply.
It's easy to look at our set of highlights and notes and think we've learned enough. But with God (loving our neighbor as ourself), there is always more available. His view includes all of us, with all of our points of view and all of our needs. It's a beautiful thing to catch a glimpse of what that looks like, by opening our hearts and minds a little bit more, with every interaction, seeking to understand, "What are you highlighting?".
