Pajamas...to the store...in the middle of the day?

Long before I had kids of my own, I would see "those" parents at the grocery stores and Wal-Mart. I'm sure you know the parents I'm talking about: the parents whose kids had crusted food on their faces, spit up on their footed pajamas, and their hair was in a mess all over their heads. I distinctly remember looking at some of those parents with disgust thinking...Why don't they comb their kids' hair? Why are their babies in pajamas at 3:00 in the afternoon? Can't they wipe their kids' faces before they take them out in public? What is wrong with parents today?! Do they just not care?!

Cut to me with two kids. Ohhhhhh! Now I get it!
The thing I didn't realize, when I was judging all these parents with my vast amount of observational expertise, was that they may have wiped their kids' faces before they went in the store, but they may have given them something else to eat to keep them from crying. Thus, the food spread across the kids' cheeks. What I didn't realize was that some of those babies were in footed pajamas in the middle of the day because it was freezing outside, and that was the only way those parents could keep something on their kiddos' feet that couldn't be pulled off by tiny fingers. What I didn't realize, when I was sizing up those parents whose kids had bird-nest hair, was that their kids may have had perfectly coifed hair but fell asleep in the carseat on the way to the store, causing complete bedhead when removed from the car. I also didn't realize that some kids like to play "ghost" and "superhero" and put blankets and towels all over their heads and destroy the time those moms spent fixing their hair five minutes prior. Back then, I had no idea that the babies at the stores wearing only diapers probably just had a diaper explosion all over their clothes and their parents forgot to slip an extra outfit in. Who knew they weren't just trying to save money?!

I certainly had no idea. I just assumed I knew what was going on. Oh how I've been humbled since I've had two boys of my own. I know I've received those looks from the public and the judgments that go with them. It's in those moments that I'm reminded of all those I judged. A lot of people like to say that the Bible says not to judge. That's innacurate. Actually, according to Matthew 7:2, For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. You can actually judge all you want, just be prepared to have it dished back out to you. That is something I didn't realize back then, but it came back to me...just like a boomerang. It took a while, but it did come. Now, I'll think a little more before I pass judgment. :)

I hope the next time you see a child with dried boogies on his nose (gross, I know!), you'll give that mom the benefit of the doubt. I hope you'll assume she wiped his face five minutes prior and has been wiping his face all day. That may not be the case, but let's all assume it is. I know for me, I've wiped Asher's face all day long today, and every time I look at him, he's got stuff stuck to his face. I mean, where does this stuff keep coming from, and how does it dry so fast?!