Present
Maybe it’s the news and all the political mudslinging that’s going on, both in Canada and the US. Maybe it’s that in my day to day I work with people in situations that really expose who they are. Maybe it’s the fact that as I pass 50 I am more and more aware of my own shortcomings. Whatever is the cause of it I find myself longing for people just to be kind to each other. I want us to realize that we are all products of our past and we all long to be better than we are, and to be thankful that God doesn’t treat us the way we treat each other. Psalm 103 is my favourite Psalm. Here’s why,
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”
God is present to me as I am right now. He loves and forgives me as I am, not as He wants me to be. That’s a powerful truth that should not only overwhelm us with gratitude, but also shape the way we live with one another. That thought inspired this:
We want to be with people:
As we think we are.
As we think they should be.
But these are just illusions:
How we think we are.
How we think they should be.
Better to realize that we are all on a journey
Traveling with our imperfections and immaturities.
Better to walk together,
Making patient space for everyone
As they are now,
As we are now.
Present.
Patiently walking together to where we will be.