From a friend:
"As I look back on my life today I am able to see things
differently in hindsight, things that at the time seemed to be tragedies- today
appear in a different light. Not good or bad, but necessary; necessary towards
learning about myself, others, and the world around me. With the benefit of age
and wisdom I don’t see myself as much as an individual as I once did, today I appreciate
the connections between myself as an individual and between myself and the
world in a way in which I was unable to as a youth. Today I value nuance, life,
and the small, sweet smells of spring, the clearness of winter, the depth of
summer, and the earthiness of fall.
As Tom T Hall once sang:
I realize that, today, though obviously still a child in
the eyes of God, I am no longer a mere infant. I am reminded of the third
chapter in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians as they struggled internally
as all human institutions do:
I
love little baby ducks,
Old
pick-up trucks,
Slow
movin trains, and rain.
I
love little country streams,
Sleep
without dreams,
Sunday
school in May, and hay.
I
love honest open smiles,
Kisses
from a child,
Tomatoes
on a vine, and onions.
“Brothers
and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as
people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not
solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you,
are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?
And so, as I approach the time in my life in which I will
be reunited with my maker, I realize that, although I am just now becoming more
than a “mere infant”, I am able for the first time to start to break away from
the worldly and see things spiritually. I don’t see bad times as I once did: as
bad in and of themselves, but as necessary experiences that can be embraced for
all of their uncertainty, their pain, their passion, and their disappointment.
For what good am I if I cannot share with the less experienced the fact that
life has always been about human suffering and human triumph, and not
necessarily in that order? Again, turning to Paul and chapter 13 of his first
epistle:
“If
I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal... ...Love is patient, love is kind... ...It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres.
When
I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child… …For now we see in a mirror,
darkly; but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall
know fully, even as I am fully known.
...And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love."
And as Tom T Hall closes:
I love winners when they cry,
Losers when they try,
Music when it's good, and life.
I love life. Even with all its trials and tribulations- which are necessary. They make life rich and meaningful. Bring on the bad times. I can only hope that all people will be able at some point to appreciate the gift of trying times. It is in these trying times that our spirits are most tested, useful, and needed. May God bless us all with and during trying times.
