"I'm tired boss"

My memory has never been great.

I remember snippets-

of conversations

of situations

of events

of songs

of movies

of books

of paragraphs

I can't remember if I've ever seen the whole movie The Green Mile. I do remember the first three words of this quote and it has been playing on repeat in my brain.

"I'm tired boss."

So today I did a google search.

As I read, my soul cried out in agreement, especially with the highlighted words...

"I'm tired boss. I'm tired of being on the road lonely as a sparrow in the rain. I'm tired of never having a buddy to be with to tell me where we's going to, coming from or why. Mostly I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world every day. There's too much of it. It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time. Can you understand?"

It's tempting to say it's always going to be this way.

It's only going to get worse.

I can't do anything to change it.

And there may be truth in those statements.

But the bigger truth is

I am called to live a life of hope

a life of beauty

a life that is different

a life of love

a life that points others to the source of all things good:

God

Romans 12:9-21 explains pretty clearly what that looks like:

"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. 

Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 

Rejoice in our confident hope. 

Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. 

Always be eager to practice hospitality. 

Bless those who persecute you. 

Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 

Live in harmony with each other. 

Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people.

And don’t think you know it all! 

Never pay back evil with more evil. 

Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.

Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
    burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

(New Living Translation)