Reflections 10/25/2020: I caught a glimpse of myself yesterday from the rear (in a video), and was shocked by the view! Wide as a Mack truck! What the heck?! I do such a great-trick-illusion job of hiding my wide rib cage from the front (with floppy shirts, distractive jewelry, and artsy scarves), that I never thought about the stark reality of my rear view! Aging is not a respecter of persons! Backbones condense, muscles shrink, rib cages widen…it should all come with a warning sign, “Wide Load Ahead!” Dang! Makes me wonder about my “relational rear view.” Is it as radically different from the front to the back as the physical me? Great frontal effort to appear loving and kind, but what is the view from behind? What emotional waves do I leave in my wake? Distrust and discouragement? Or love and joy? Aging can take its toll here as well. Pain, impatience and just buying into our “right” to be ornery in our elderly years can “widen our rib cage” in unattractive ways! Lord, make my “front and back views” the same! Congruent! Honest, open and genuine. Simply passing along the incredible love You pour into my life in (hopefully) as unpolluted ways as possible! And the physical piece? “Long live wide loads!”