SIMPLICITY

When I was learning to sew, my grandmother encouraged me to find patterns from Simplicity Patterns because they were easy.  You put A with B and sewed the pieces together.  Keep up with that and eventually you had made a dress! Sounded good to me until I realized that nothing is that simple.  You had to read the directions carefully and practice until you were actually ready to sew because tearing out the stitches was-well-never mind. Suffice to say it wasn’t easy.  As a girl trying to learn, the one thing that kept me going was the fact that my grandmother was always nearby to help, direct, correct and praise when I did it right. 

The words of Jesus seem so simple. No equivocation, no ifs, ands, or buts.  They are the heart of his message.   “Love one another, Do good to those who persecute you, Turn the other cheek, If someone asks for your tunic, give them your cloak as well, and Forgive seventy times seven”.  There are more of course and they are all direct and to the point and there can be no misunderstanding their meaning.  

How is it then that those who profess to be his followers don’t get it?  We really want to obey, but between reading the words and doing the deed we are faced with our ego and our free will.  Jesus knew that.  These commands are only the first step in changing the world.  A first step they may be, but they are also a firm foundation on which to stand and continue to try to obey, to think as Jesus thought and to see others as Jesus sees them. 

If we can master that we will not only know peace, we will share it.  Yesterday a woman told me that her dearest friend denies the existence of God.  She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said that if her friend continues to reject God, he will consign her to hell without a second glance.  That took my breath away.  I tried in vain to find the magic words that would counter her belief, but I did not succeed.

It is my firm belief that God rejects no one.  God is all-knowing and every motive for every action we take is fully known to him.  We are his and his love and forgiveness are boundless.  How, though, do I express that belief in a few words?  I don’t have an answer, but this I know, however often I fail, like my Grandmother at sewing lesson, God is beside me to encourage, inspire and fill me with hope in his love.  I pray only I can find a way to say it better and quicker!

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA