Little Yellow Bowl My little yellow bowl broke today, its handle finally succumbing to 34 years of regular use and hot dishwashers. It’s not much of a bowl. Plastic, part of a set long gone. And I was surprised at the rush of emotion I felt. You see, my mother-in-law gave me that bowl. She gave me the whole set as part of a large box of utensils and bowls and dishcloths and other kitchen things her son and I would need as we set up our first home together. While many may not see that as such a big deal, it was. I was most decidedly not her choice for her son. And yet, she still did this thoughtful thing. I use that bowl for nearly everything. It has a little spout, making it perfect for pouring pancake batter on a hot griddle or cake mix into cupcake tins. And every time I used it over the years, I thought about her. The rest of the contents of that box are mostly long gone. But the little yellow bowl hung in there, for 34 years. My mother-in-law and I had what can ta...
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But what if we all chose to see the world, and especially each other, through rose-colored, or even better, through God-colored glasses? What would that look like?
Would we jump to the conclusion that an unkind word was simply a misunderstanding and forgive the other person as a matter of course? Would we see only the beauty and none of the scars when we look into each other’s faces? Perhaps we’d assume that all the actions people take with regard to us are taken in our best interest, with only pure motives.
Would we see each other fail, or fall, and have only compassion, reaching out immediately to pick each other up and help each other walk more steadily next time? Would our conversations be not about “who said who did what,” but instead be a celebration of all that’s good and right in that person? Would we lack the ability to remember the faults and mistakes and remember only the best?
Would we focus on all that we have in common, letting our differences fade in that light? Would we understand that “different” is not the same as “wrong?” if we chose to the world through God-colored glasses?
Compassionate-colored glasses are kind of nice.
Nice thoughts. You write beautifully - very clear and open and easy to follow. As time permits I'l going to go back and read more of what you're written. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and musings...
I guess I don't buy into the God ANY religion sells. I just know the God of compassion, love, mercy, and grace with whom I've had personal experience.
I grew up with a 'Baptist god,' and was taught that he was just waiting to slap me down for all my inherent evilness. What a horrid thing to tell a child, and equally horrid way to portray God to someone. It took a long time for me to recognize the difference between who and what God truly is, and the bastardized version people like to create to further their own agendas.
So, yeah, the God I know is decidedly a much nicer one that most people have been raised with.