Do You Want to Be Friends Again?

Me, Teagan, Alyssa. Two of my best friends, the day Teag got her mission call.

This weekend I was doing a show at a seven-year-old's birthday party, and as I was setting up, I noticed the middle of a scene. Two of the party guests seem to have a minor quarrel, which ended in "Fine!" from the first girl and "FINE!" from the one talking with her. I'm not sure what happened, but that second grade drama is serious stuff, as many of you know. As the show went on, they laughed and had a good time but did not sit by or talk to one another. At the end, all the kids sit in a circle to meet and pet the rabbit. Bitter Girl tried picking up the rabbit and stumbled with how to hold it. Ex-friend immediately (out of habit, I infer)  helped her and showed her how. They paused and (no longer) Bitter Girl said "Do you want to be friends again?" And Helper/Healer Girl said, "Yeah, let's do it."
And bam.
Besties again.

How easy was it for these two girls to forget about what was bothering them, stop judging one another, and simply cater to one another's needs and decide to be in good company? It was like they squirted a bottle of friendship in each other's faces.
*spray*
Yeah, let's do it. Then they were cool. Not judging is hard. Being kind to everyone is harder. However, this is what we were made to do, what we can thrive in, and what we can continually have success doing. We "naturally" judge each book cover we see. We linger on the ones that seem colorful and interesting, we read the summary of the ones with intriguing titles, and we delve into the ones we love with all our hearts.
There may not be time to read every book out there, but there is time to give each book the care it deserves. Books are not to be thrown, stomped on, torn up, soaked or spilled on, neglected or left out of place. An author created that book, with passionate ideas and great potential in mind. You may not have time to read the story, but please have respect for the artistic, divine value and wonderful potential the author designed this book to have.
Everyone comes with a great story, and different wonderful elements. One may have flawless word choice (or good leadership skills) or enticing descriptions (or a lovely singing voice). Everyone will also have a sentence fragment, a missing page or maybe a rough introduction. But can't we step back, take a little breath, and smile long enough to notice the many masterpieces we have among us? Yes, we "naturally" judge each book cover we see. We also "naturally" each have the light of Christ in us. Intrinsically. Dutifully. You deserve to be cared for and read carefully, so please treat your fellow shelf mates similarly.
Please be kind to people.