Mysterious Ways

God does work in mysterious ways! My wife had a hair appointment this morning, and while she was getting her haircut, in walked two members of the church. We chatted about how they were doing and so forth. When her cut was done, he got into the chair for a quick trim and my wife got into a deep conversation with his wife about the latest effects of his stroke. She had tears in her eyes as she related the frustrations of trying to care for him. On the surface, he's doing remarkably well, but his own frustrations make it easy for the private life to be less than perfect.

That seems to be the way a lot of us are, with a public face that seems sunshine and roses, and a private face that isn't nearly so pretty. Something to do with being human, no doubt. Yet, part of what our Savior calls us to is discovering that the public face needs to be more honest, and the private face nicer, more compassionate. We are to become more and more like Jesus' example. We need to push ourselves in all those comfortable areas that, truth be told, are just not what God wants from us. It isn't always comfortable, but then growth usually isn't all that comfortable.

When we need to remind ourselves of that, we need only watch a small child learning to walk or ride a bicycle or skate. They fall down, they skin knees and hands, they get bloody noses, they cry and wail in pain and frustration. We tell them they need to get up and try again - then we forget as we grow that the same is true of us when we are learning something we need. Life isn't easy, but we have so much to ease our way that we have forgotten what our great-grandparents understood. Each day is another chance to live, to struggle against the things that would keep us down, to be inventive about solutions. Each day will bring its own struggles and disappointments. Each day will afford us another opportunity to reach out in love and compassion - or push someone away that God brings to us for help.

The choice is always ours, and with the choice the burden of living with our choices. When we learn a new way of doing something, we should be cautious about throwing it away before we see if it will work or not. As life comes at you, strive to face it like the tenacious tyke who refuses to stay on hands and knees, the little girl who decides she is every bit as good at sports as the boys, the cancer or AIDS patient who refuses to simply roll over and die so people will feel more comfortable. Get those sleeves rolled up, and grit your teeth in determination to grow into the person God intends, and may the Spirit give us the courage to begin!

Peace!