Stomping, screaming, punching and a smile...

I had to fly from Nashville to Denver yesterday and as I boarded I was able to observe two different families board with their young child.  One of the children was so excited, she jumped right up and gave the boarding passes to the gate attendant and then said "Thank you!" and "Have a nice day!" in the cute little voice only a 3 year girl could have.  Her smile could have taken over the entire plane. She was very sweet. The other child was not happy and didn't do anything but grunt, stomp, scream and then punch her Dad while entering the plane.  

The Dad of the happy child said to the other, that his little girl struggled like the other little girl on the day before and that they hoped the flight would be okay.  The other Dad was a little discouraged over his child, and said she had too much sugar a Grandma's house. They chit-chatted as they entered the plane and then sat down.

This made me think about how we can look at situations like that each day.  Many would think that the one child was well disciplined and the other was not. Some would think the fit throwing was cute in some strange way. Some would want to high five the sweet child and spank the other. Some might like the way one Dad tried to show empathy with the other's plight. There are dozens of ways to react to situations we encounter each day.  How would you react to this one?

Lessons Learned: We all have bad days and throw fits (outwardly or inwardly). You can be an encouragement to people in lots of little ways. Children and adults are not perfect and act inappropriately sometimes. Don't judge someone based on one quick snapshot of their lives.

Thought: Have you judged someone based on only a moments image on their bad day?  How would you like to be judged?