Friday, May 4, 2012

We make no final judgements


The understanding that we can't be understood as a person in a fixed space and time, but rather as a string of events; that we live in an ever-changing world should engender in us a spirit of compassion.

No one knows the totality of my stories. How could they? I don't even know them. There are too many moving parts, too many instances that go unnoticed, too many scaffolds I am unaware of. How do I expect myself to judge others fairly when I can't even justly assess myself? I don't. At least I shouldn't.

So we make no final judgements. At least we shouldn't. Not even with ourselves. Remember, we're in progress.

*

I couldn't sleep last night for a number of reasons. This morning I woke up groggy, not prepared to face another day at the grindstone. I heard Mike and Ada jabbering in the kitchen and remembered that I am central to the story unfolding; to their stories. So I willed my tired body out of bed, walked in the other room and held Ada close, breathing in the smell of sleep and breakfast.

Today I took laundry off the line. They were stiff from drying so quickly. I was reminded that I need not dry so quickly, because I too can stiffen. 

*

A beautiful thing about teaching one another in church is that as more people contribute, the clearer and stronger the message becomes. So it is with church membership as a whole. We strengthen eachother. We strengthen our ability to learn. We strengthen eachothers' resolve. We strengthen our understanding. We share our stories. We reserve our judgments with understanding that we are all struggling and striving. We remember that power exists. We remember science. We remember God. And we are reminded that only the gospel is constantly relevant, and the substitute things won’t work.

2 comments:

Chels said...

You're a beautiful person :)
I loved this, it's probably my favorite lesson I've been learning in life and one everyone needs to know.

thepalmierifamily said...

Paige, the way you say things sings to my heart and makes me feel good. Maybe it's because I've had these last months to be strengthened and bettered by you. Thank you again and again. I think when our life is over and we get to have a very special talk with Heavenly Father, we're going to see eternities best artwork: the amazing result of lives/people/love/experiences that criss cross and form something so beautiful that we'll be lost for words. I'm grateful for the hue in that sense that you are putting on my canvas.

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