It's not about what we deserve. I remember an old cheesy Christian rock band who sang, "If we don't get what we deserve, it's a real good thing. If we get what we don't deserve, it's a real good thing." They were dopey, but had a point. I'd be pretty screwed if I had to take only what I deserved. Fortunately, I have friends and family members who are filled with grace.
I'd rather have a love I don't have to earn. I'd rather have a love that's freely given. I like that I don't have to work for my friends' affection, and that I feel safe with them even when I'm being a bonehead. Because that's what friendship and love are about: gracious kindness and affection. I like the comfort of our wrinkles and pimples showing. I feel comfort in the openness of being flawed in community. There is peace that comes with accepting the grace of God, and the grace of those who love us. When Jesus told us, "I bring you my peace, my own peace I leave with you," he was leaving us his unconditional love.
Which is why beautiful Dr. M and I think the last verse of Amazing Grace should always ring out with joy, and not falter in self-conscious voices:
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
Internship's End
21 hours ago
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"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
-Saint Molly Ivins