On my drive home from work yesterday, I noticed this bumper sticker:

“Kill them all.  Let God sort them out.”

My first reaction was anger, “how nice!” in a very sarcastic tone and, to my shame, I judged this person I didn’t even know..  This morning, as I took my walk, I thought more about this bumper sticker sentiment and my reaction.  I see so many people with plastic faces formed into grotesque imitations of happiness, trying to convince themselves and others that they are “having the time of their lives.  Yet there is so much sadness and rage underneath it all.  The plastic shell begins to shatter.  Are we aware of this “joy” that is a lie?

My daughter is full of life.  When Ana is happy, you know it.  Her eyes sparkle and her face glows.  When she’s unhappy, her eyes become pools of discontent.  When she’s sad, those eyes darken, the sparkle is gone.  Ana knows what it is to be joyful.  What is it about becoming an adult that leads us to forget this honesty, to forget who we are?  How do I help Ana, David and Mike hold onto to her personhood and not sell out to a culture that wants to pretend?

Lord have mercy.