%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250131023749+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250131023749+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1728 >> stream xWMϯcR%a-ioelm3U>|DHZ4ZRXׯ_7$ ~ݛ'pSV"/T7kӞǿ7jd|0yCup5nk&ן#"Mi!J囵(p(ShGU.eJ%w �KEy,ढVT%"/Uww (UxO(JMߕ-.|0X9GxjR8g3U VKzyPuMƒ? F}fT7Y4.ΌN:*O^[+ P2;+$'7VqZT}Ge·Ko{NVb"?%w b'(%XdvrtM.oe7 ܤԀwh<}=? p1Z,͵ z 7< l~rɒpni5}XȂjjZ1t"by!-?`I`Z,n ?煨X.bY^jG`ˁx*KʎW5Mo9 bلh3XJCF-_ (pR> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1347 >> stream xVMo6W16VZGnuZ(ЦĕD,lԾ䵋"aj͛7ZFJ~>_]˨r|]5I߶S2fK]2 DtKS%{edB:m:\FkB]o+}s{&<#JG\m'[,z?л3D].:HjՕ ԩFVͯں9c!q;`di[*u=xr*tN*Mn@ kC GiL'݉j3"(FwU4MYFkަď3;cKˮPw!{4ưWo1rƚt1(N7IJ A](ąDX F x/(j58 %u(n*%0v։>@GeQ  HnC _uL9f(1y hr@ `+KuR3G㔽-eL4 MfFjeUyMm|:ӷɾQXu{BN?އWദӲ.FGzAg3tU g 6CU{H$W~r Ʌ^ t{PRz1(# ǝ1dt=%)k=\uAYm*%qI&PvDfRbA$&ڢ6E=tPLCWIω:)ՃgIAOTm*)uܩS&/?sxv;鵖5zU )6fbĤ[Ժ)Xވ8;A"(}̗<ykX +FIo{p1{|#i> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 25 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000002551 00000 n 0000002658 00000 n 0000002766 00000 n 0000002876 00000 n 0000002989 00000 n 0000003105 00000 n 0000003134 00000 n 0000003244 00000 n 0000008819 00000 n 0000009950 00000 n 0000010009 00000 n 0000010068 00000 n 0000010173 00000 n 0000011594 00000 n 0000011651 00000 n 0000011708 00000 n 0000017283 00000 n trailer << /Size 25 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<08e7c28d9a7fb3ee4dcbffda5b2bfdd4><08e7c28d9a7fb3ee4dcbffda5b2bfdd4>] >> startxref 18414 %%EOF from the desk of...How to handle hard elbows | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

from the desk of…How to handle hard elbows

October 24, 2012
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

Douglas O’Brien, Lt. Colonel

Last spring Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace got plenty of headlines because of a brutal elbow sweep that caught James Harden in the head. As The Los Angeles Times recorded: Metta World Peace “had just thrown down his third dunk of the game late in the first half, and the 18,997 fans at Staples Center erupted with joy. No one looked more elated than World Peace, who pounded his right fist on his chest. He then cocked his arm back and swung an elbow at Oklahoma City forward James Harden. Harden fell to the ground clutching his ear…The incident earned World Peace a flagrant foul type 2, an immediate ejection and a [seven-day] suspension.”

When World Peace throws a hard elbow he gets a suspension.

I just returned from spending some time with my 3-year-old granddaughter, Brynn, and her family. She’s a lovely girl: bright-eyed, personable, good-looking. She has a beautiful smile.

During my visit, I was interested to see that when Brynn didn’t like me fussing over her, she used her elbow to push me away. She just cocked her elbow and swept me out of the way. It was a reflex action. Evidently, I was an annoyance and she reacted with a firm sweep of her little cocked arm.

I have a pretty standard response to grandkids who push me away. Every time one pushes me away, I start kissing them.

When Brynn throws a hard elbow, I smother her with kisses.

After I do that, her attitude changes. She starts to giggle. Eventually, she pushes me away just so I will keep on kissing her. For grandkids, I think, love and kisses work better than “time out,” a kid-appropriate suspension.

I’ve had other people push me away. When I was in college there was an important woman that I would see at The Salvation Army and at work. She never used her elbow on me, but the way she turned her head away when I was around felt like a body blow. I took her on as a project. When I saw her passing by, I moved to intercept her. She came into a room, I walked over and started talking to her. I used every occasion to speak with her and to give her my attention. In a short time I had made a friend. I knew we were friends the first time she came into a room and I didn’t see her. She saw me. She crossed the room to say hello and ask how I was doing.

There are so many instances in the Gospels where people came over to be close to Jesus. Crowds came to him and pressed in to hear what he had to say. The crowd was so large that Zaccheus had to climb a tree to get close to him. There were those like the suffering woman who came to Jesus hoping to touch his cloak. A centurion asked Jesus just to say something to him so that his servant would be healed. Many people were attracted to Jesus, but not everyone.

Disapproving critics didn’t like the way Jesus kept the ceremonial laws. Others like the rich, young ruler thought a relationship with Jesus would be far too costly. Some put personal priorities over Jesus’ kingdom priorities: “Let me go bury my father first,” said one. Some were disgusted by Jesus’ choice of friends, profoundly unhappy that Jesus would keep company with bad characters.

Jesus never turned them away. With some he seemed to have amazing patience, attending to children or chatting with a Samaritan woman. He did use strong words with some, at least that’s how I would feel if he called me a “blind guide.” In many cases he simply endured their hard elbows and verbal abuse.

But rather than shutting down their relationship with him, Jesus loved them. He loved them whether they loved him or not—and whether they deserved his love or not. When we were still sinners, Christ gave his life for us (Rom. 5:8 BBE). What a wonderful thing if we could respond in love to those who throw elbows at us.

With grandkids, try kisses.

 

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like