Recently I ‘pinked’ a load of laundry. You know what I’m talking about…when a random
item of clothing (in this case a red t-shirt) bleeds all over the clothes in
the washer. In my haste to clean up the
laundry room I neglected to pull all of the lights from darks. To top it all off the t-shirt had never been
washed. Ugh!
I pulled out the dark colored clothes and tossed them in the
dryer then I tried to lighten the affects of ‘pinking’ by using a Rit Dye remover and washing everything in hot water. I couldn’t wait for the load to
get finished so I could see how I did.
Sigh. No change. So I washed the load yet again, this time
with a heavy dose of bleach. You guessed
it; everything is still a lovely shade of pink.
I have wracked my brain trying to figure out a way to reverse
the stain, but at some point I am going to have to make peace with the fact
that I now have one less tablecloth and one of the boys has a ruined dress
shirt.
I hate it. I am angry
with myself. But eventually I need to
toss the pink load of wash in the dryer and move on. I will also need to find a way to forgive
myself.
How many of us have made mistakes in life that we are still
wearing - like an unnaturally pinked shirt?
How many of us keep fighting the same battles, searching for answers in
all the wrong places? Trying to erase
all signs of our mistakes is human, but it isn’t spiritually healthy.
We have all fallen short.
We have all sinned. It is likely
that we will sin again. This is part and
parcel with being human. However, we
have the opportunity, dare I say the responsibility, to learn from our mistakes
so that we don’t repeat them. AND we
desperately need to forgive ourselves so that we can move forward.
I believe the number one spiritual ailment in the 21st
Century is the burden the people carry around because they can’t or won’t
accept God’s love, mercy, grace and forgiveness.
Jesus knew about these sorts of burdens, many are self
imposed because good people think that they have to beat themselves
up to begin to make reparations to God for their sinful ways. I think this may
be why so many people have dropped out of church, because it can all become so
exhausting. But God’s grace doesn’t work
this way. The Good News is that Jesus
offers an alternative vision; a new way of living that speaks to the basic
needs of each and every one of us:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned
out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.
I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how
I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or
ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and
lightly.”
(The words of Jesus, Matthew
11:27-29 The Message)
The unforced rhythms of grace include prayer, worship,
participating in acts of justice and mercy (service to others) and other spiritual
practices that bring us into an awareness of our loving God.
During this Easter season let's celebrate the ways that
Jesus revealed himself to his disciples after that first resurrection
morning. We are also invited to celebrate the ways
that God’s love, mercy, grace and forgiveness are extended to us, each and
every day! Even when, especially when, we mess up.
Peace to you and yours,
Deborah
Since last summer when Ethan participated in Running from Malaria, my younger son Justin has been brainstorming ideas to raise money for Imagine No Malaria. A few weeks ago when he asked if he could color his hair, I said - only if you're doing it for a good cause. So, we agreed that he could color it blue, for $500 in contributions to Imagine No Malaria.
So, thank you, everyone for your support of our young people who say YES to Jesus, and yes to making a difference in the world, even if that means that their hair will be blue, or pink or purple for a few months this summer. It's a small price to pay.
