Today my son ate another boy's lunch.

The life of a four year old boy isn't always easy, or so I found out today. You see, while I was waiting to pick up my son from preschool, I had a nice little chat with another mother. We had a lot in common and she was really very nice. So when I saw her waving me down as I sped- I mean slowly cruised- past her in the parking lot, I thought "Oh, how nice, she is waving good-bye". Well, that isn't what she was doing. In the next moment, I noticed the familiar looking lunchbox she was holding out for me to see. I expertly (OK, barely missing her) pulled over to the side and rolled the window down. This organized mother noticed that she had my son's lunchbox and not their own. She handed me the lunchbox, graciously explained that both boys had the same lunchbox and then stared. Yeah, it took me a minute to realize that I, therefore, must have hers. We exchanged the lunchboxes and then laughed about it. I carefully (OK, I did barely miss my neighbor/son's Sunday school teacher!) pulled back into the line of cars and headed home. It was then that my four year old had the epiphany that he had eaten this other boy's lunch! Neither he nor the other boy even realized that it was not their own lunch. Not unusual for preschoolers right? Well, it just so happened that this morning I made certain that my son knew what was in his own lunch. I had packed the lunch and put in cinnamon applesauce. I told my son that there was CINNAMON applesauce in his lunch and that he would like it and should eat it this time. I mean this was not your boring old applesauce. I did everything a mother could do. I called his name, made eye contact, and required a verbal acknowledgment of the special applesauce. However, he forgot. There was no applesauce in the other lunch but he ate it anyway. Well, I laughed- it was all so innocent. My son didn't think it was funny and wouldn't get out of the van until I promised not to tell Daddy. I started to think about how I had packed the lunch just for him, based on his needs and likes. ALERT: I AM GETTING ON MY SOAPBOX Christian convictions are a pet-peeve of mine. God gives each of us our own convictions and these convictions don't have to apply to everyone else. God wants us to support each other and not tear each other down. We are required to do this as Christians. Just like I packed my son's lunch for him, God gives each of us convictions for us and our own families. Convictions, or beliefs about things like where your children should go to school, what TV you watch, what holidays you celebrate, are personal. I did not intend for another child to eat that lunch and God does not intend for our convictions to be used by another person. Next time you start to judge another person for their behavior, stop and ask yourself if your opinion about this behavior might have been given to you by God just for you. Maybe, just maybe, God packed your lunchbox full of opinions that were meant for you to digest and not for someone else. It is time we love each other- don't forget and expect someone else to eat your lunch too.