So I have experienced the first hiccup at my pizza delivery job. At the end of the night we turn in our money from deliveries and subtract our tips. The supervisor then asks what we want to claim for our tips, because they have to enter an amount in their records for tax purposes. I have received VERY peculiar looks when I state the full amount of my tips. Several of the drivers have even tried to "talk" me into claiming less because cash tips can't be tracked like check or credit card tips. At first I thought they just wanted to "inform" me that I could keep more money by fudging the system a little, but the more I thought about it they were motivated by other reasons. If they ALL claim ridiculously low tips then the IRS has no ammunition about any one of them in particular not claiming all their tips, but enter element X (me :D ) and they all start freaking out because there is a chance that my claims will stand out amongst theirs. I feel bad because they seem to be concerned about this. Don't get me wrong, I am not tempted in the slightest to NOT claim my tips, it is just frustrating that people seem to base their opinions not on WHAT someone does, but on how that thing effects them personally.

Well anyway I got to looking at this picture of Jesus I drew 13 years ago while serving a full-time mission and it struck me in a completely new way. Over the last few years when I look at it I have only seen the blemishes and aging of the paper. It bothered me because the yellowing of the paper made me think how it didn't look "perfect" like I thought Jesus should. It suddenly hit me that the only time Jesus would not "look" perfect would be when I see my own sins, that he has taken upon himself, reflected back at me. What a wonderful picture this became again! How can I worry about what others say and think? when I have the perfect example in front of me (and I am not talking about the picture this time, as it only serves as a reminder) of how to live my life. As I realize that the people I work with are still "good" people at heart, I can choose to make my own decisions and treat them with the respect that they deserve and that we are all expected to use towards one another. It makes for a much brighter day when I can try my best to see things like this.