The Politician's Wife

Today I met the wife of a local politician. When I met her, she was standing in front of her torn-up lawn in the rain, with two of her kids playing in the mud.

I asked her what the hardest part about being a politician's wife is--expecting it to be something like "Everybody hates you." Instead, she said, "Actually, the hardest thing about being in politics is time. When my husband's not at work, he is at meetings...pretty much every weekend. So, on Saturday, instead of daddy playing ball with the kids, mommy is out there playing ball with them."

Noticing her torn-up lawn, I commented, "I see you've had some lawn issues..."

She told me her husband did something at a political meeting that other members didn't like, so they wrote an obscene word across her front lawn with laundry soap. She found it on Mother's Day morning.

I began to wonder how many times do I say things that might hurt others? How many times do I forget that each person is unique and loved by God? And suddenly, I realize: I write on lawns with laundry soap, too.