Don't be a Stubborn Ass or the Beauty is in our Differences

 

Anita Renfro shared this clothing tag that she thought we should each wear around our necks as a reminder to each of us.........

   This garment is made from 100% natural fibers.           Any irregularity or variation is not to be considered    defective. Imperfections enhance the beauty of the        fabric.

Oh if only we could all think this way about one another. Not  just in the tone of our skin or the circumstances of our lives but in the views that we embrace. 

I am convinced that no matter the side of an issue that one takes that their heart is for the good of all. None of us is completely right or completely wrong. The truth is that just as the shades of this cloth are subtle so are the differences between us. Yet, lately we have become trenched in our point of view to the slinging of anyone who disagrees under the bus or into the trash. Shutting down all discussion and compassion. We avoid topics that we used to discuss for fear of offense or alienation. When we truly listen we just may learn how similar we are even in our different approaches. 

I feel compelled to give an example. Border security and immigration is a polarizing subject. We condemn each other for our stance. What I believe is that both sides of this issue have the heart for the people who are desperate to come to the United States. One side says to throw let all into our country with welcoming arms. The other says build a wall to protect our borders and let people in legally and thoughtfully. These are certainly opposing approaches. But my thought is that both have the same heart only different strategies to solve a most heartbreaking situation. Calling one another racists and name calling is not helpful to us coming together to work on the tragedy that is the lives of these people who are flooding here. The answer lies somewhere between opening our doors and working to help the countries that are so broken that people are willing to leave their homes and families and flee. 

Seeing the beauty of our imperfections and differences is what can heal us of the offenses and division in our country and our world. I pray for each of us, myself included, to stop digging in on my way is the right way. The image that comes to my mind is that of a donkey I had as a kid that sat down and refused to move. I tried to drag him with the rope around his neck but my eight year old strength was never going to move him when he didn't want to come. So finding a way to encourage him to come with me became the answer. Didn't our moms always tell us you get more with honey than vinegar? Nobody listens to someone who is shouting at them or who is convinced their thinking is completely ridiculous.

So my hope is that we can all come together with the label of embracing one another even though the fabric of our lives varies and that we are most certainly never completely right or totally wrong. Unless we are believing in everything we think. More often than I care to admit, I find out I was wrong to dig in my heels on a subject I believed to be true. Perhaps we need to require every student to take speech and debate in high school so we get practice arguing for both sides of a subject. My grandgirl that I adore will not get vaccinated. This terrifies me but it is for me to respect her position and pray that it doesn't take her from me. How sad I would be if I had the power to force her and something about the vaccine harmed her as she fears. What I don't want is to push her away with constantly bombarding her with my opinion. That would not result in her getting vaccinated but would keep us from our daily connections. When we are bullied into change it doesn't produce change but separates us from the one who insists they know better than we do. If Ron and I had listened all those years ago we would not have the wonderful kiddos that are our family. Adopting three boys in twenty-seven months seemed crazy to those around us. They just wanted to protect us from heartache and a home filled with chaos. Saying that our families thought we were biting off more than we could chew is an understatement. But they were never going to keep us from running after our family. That they not only embraced but were there to help when the chaos of three wee ones became a reality shows that love is more powerful than saying I told you so.  

I began this post thinking I was going to write about the differences in the color of our skin and cultures. But as happens more often than I can count, this took a different turn. I pray I didn't offend anyone here with my words. It is my belief that most of us have enormous hearts for others even when we don't recognize it in each other. So I am going to take my own advice and stop being a stubborn ass with my butt in the dirt but listen more and speak less. Besides my buttprints in the sand would not be a pretty sight no matter how adorable I am.

In Him,

Joyful

                                               12-31-21