Jealousy

Jealousy was common;

  envy tagged along.

It seems these nasty feelings had been with me

  way too long.

Was it because I felt so empty?

  Was it insecurities?

Did my lack of passion and purpose

  feed these feelings deep in me?

Struggling to know direction

  Wanting to have a “call”

I’d look at other’s successes

  I’d criticize them all.

Then I met with Jesus,

  in a place of joy and light

He told me I had purpose

  He told me wrong from right.

The strengths I saw in others

  were give to them by Him

They were given with a purpose

  to bless all of earth’s men

Their strengths are for us all,

  and in this we should be glad.

Whatever someone else does well

  is never ever “bad”.

So now when someone’s talents

  shine for all to see;

I thank my heavenly Father,

  for helping me to see.

As I Look in My Mirror . . . 

I am looking at my face.  In a mirror.   I can see how I’ve aged, complete with puffiness under my eyes and a mottled skin tone that comes with 59 years of life.  I could focus on that.  But instead I look at my eyes.  The eyes.  That is where I live.  In there somewhere.  I am reminded that the outside of my being, my body, although a gift from God, is not really all that I am.

The inside of us is a jewel, a fascinating, complex creation.  You know,  the outside can often betray what is inside.  See that obese woman walking down the street?  Her thighs swish together, she saunters sideways, trying to propel her excess weight forward.  On the outside, she is not really a pretty picture.  But if we give her the time, if we explore what is behind her eyes, we will see someone with complexity, with gifts, with personality.  We just don’t know what’s inside her skin.

Or, we could be looking at a man with cerebral palsy, hardly able to form a sentence without stuttering or slurring his words.  Take note!  He has something to say.  There is a person in there who is articulate and intelligent.

Even the simple folk in our world, those who have been gifted with a mental impairment, they have a wealth of personhood, of personality and temperament waiting for us to discover.

So I look in the mirror and see me, and I see God's mark.  I am made in His image and it is a humbling thing to ponder.

Nothing’s Perfect ‘Til Heaven

Nothing’s perfect until heaven.  For instance, take dogs.  If you’re a dog lover, you’re right with me on this one.  Can there be a more perfect pet than a dog?  Need I list their wonderful qualities such as unconditional love, sloppy exuberance when you walk in the door, following you around the house and protecting your house from bad men at all times of the day and night?  I could seriously go on and on.

My point?  These seemingly perfect companions also eat poop.  If you leave dirty underwear on the floor, it’s like taking them to Baskin Robbins.  You’ve heard the Bible verse about a dog returning to its own vomit?  Yes, it is true.  That they will do!

So dogs serve as a prime example of how nothing’s perfect, not even dogs, until we get to heaven.

This has been a belief of mine that has been slow in coming.  We can tend to want the perfect family reunion, perfect spouse, perfect home and neighborhood, perfect island get-away.  Get over it.  There is no perfection in any of these things.

Does that mean we should expect the worst and be grumpy old men in our walk through life?  Nope.  Let’s hope for the best, let’s make situations the best they can be.  Just remember that we live in a fallen world filled with fallen people, surrounded by imperfection.

The fact that we long for perfection, as CS Lewis would say, hints to us that there will some day be a place of perfection.  Maybe when we get to heaven there will be wonderful dogs who no longer desire stinky things.  I’m convinced there will be family reunions beyond our wildest dreams.  It will all be good and it will all be perfect.

So wait.  Enjoy what we have now with the understanding that it will never be perfect until heaven.

I am so looking forward to it!