The Unspoken Meaning of "Stupid Idiot" Notes

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"Stupid idiot! Who taught you how to park?"

It was a pencil-scrawled, unsigned love letter, tucked beneath my windshield wiper.

Sheepishly, I looked around the parking lot for Mr. Anonymous, to no avail, feeling like a fool.

Yes my vehicle had crossed slightly into the next parking space, but that was because the guy beside me was double parked too.  He was long gone, leaving my awkwardly parked minivan as the target of nasty notes from poisened pencils.

"Stupid Idiot?" Me? It wasn't my fault! How dare he?" I fumed, "What kind of stupid idiot would write an anonymous letter calling me a stupid idiot?"

Then, something I heard long ago dawned on me.  Hurting people hurt people.  It must be a seething, boiling, cauldron of pain erupting into this nasty note.

A certain melancholy shadowed my heart, as I pondered what sort of difficulties and struggles my "stupid idiot" friend must be enduring. "He's just lashing out," I told myself, "He doesn't really mean this."  What he wanted to say just got lost in the translation.

Then, I pictured what I supposed the fellow really intended when he wrote that nasty letter to me.

Instead of "stupid idiot", he meant to write --

"Help! Help! I'm hurting so much on the inside.  My life is full of stress and emotional pain.   I can't deal with it. Please pray for me!  I don't know what to do."

I'm sure that's what he meant -- but it just came out in different words!

So -- I prayed for the guy, and drove away whistling a hymn.

Comments

  1. Unknown5:45 PM

    Pastor Mark, I always learn something new from you and listening to your reasoning for this person will help me to do the same for others. The first thought that went through my head was a person in need of much prayer. I did not think about the possible pain that caused the lashing out. One good thing, maybe that person took out their frustrations on you instead of a spouse waiting for his/her arrival at home.

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