Imperfect life this is indeed. There is nothing you can call perfect of a life situation or in people we meet. Fortunes fall, hearts break, and we may lose job - home – money – relationships and sanity. Our peace and calm is often shattered by this turmoil and chaos which runs through the whole length of our existence, it seems. This life takes us on a roller-coaster ride which we can’t get out of – unless we say to the world “Stop! Let me out!!”
During that lunch meet I had with my lady friends recently, previous post I wondered at how they had changed. Oh not in a big way but rather faintly, slightly. One may not even notice it; but it was something I saw in their eyes and in the nuance of their thoughts vacillating from can-do and can’t-do. The verve and vivacity of their personalities which engaged everybody in lively repartee over meets of the previous years seemed to have watered down.
The thought saddened me as I realized that life’s troubles had managed to nip at their joy transforming them into shadows of yesteryears. Life’s imperfect twirl had finally caught up and taken its toll on them.
I don’t know if they sensed the change themselves; I dared not ask. That could trigger or invite a flood of tears on my tiny shoulders. Lol They seemed to be so fragile that a slight trip could burst the dam and unveil their pain. Now wouldn’t that spoil my enjoyment of that scrumptious lasagna on my plate?! We wouldn’t want that, would we?! J So therefore I thought it best to appropriate it for a better time when they would be at ease with the peeling off of layers.
So then, we know that life is imperfect, now what are we doing to do about it? How should we conduct ourselves in a way that we gain rather then lose what treasure is contained even in an imperfect life such as this?
Believe me, the treasure or treasures exist. God may run us through the fire for our learning but in the same breath He also wisely sends us an oasis to rest our soul and quench our hunger and thirst. These are the so-called blessings which God pours out into our lives without fail— blessings which are poured out generously in our splattered lives for our joy, power, strength, courage, hope, comfort, encouragement, inspiration, and help. Yet these things we shall unfortunately not see with our ordinary eyes but only through the eyes of faith. We must seek this ability --- otherwise we shall be missing the joys, glory, and richness of God’s divine gifts.
I believe that we all know by now that our God operates not in the minds but in the hearts of men and women. A person may be intelligent and brilliant above all minds or possess the greatest wealth in the world or sit in the loftiest of titles and positions man has created for himself --- but these in truth do not impress God at all. It is the person’s heart that He fixes His gaze, relates to, helps, and blesses.
Thus let us ask ourselves this question – how are we in our hearts?
Do we bemoan our misfortunes easily at the slightest drop of discomfort?
Do we rant and rage at the first sign of a letdown?
Do we sink in utter despair when chances or people let us down?
Do we easily give up our battles?
Do we compare ourselves to the successes or failure of others in a way that would make us proud or envious or smug?
Do we bash people down at the ranks to make ourselves look good in our jobs?
Do we blame God for everything going wrong in our life?
What does lie in our hearts when life heaps its imperfections upon us? – Hate, envy, jealousy, disgust, loathing, antipathy, greed, fear, spite, resentment, bitterness, hostility, antagonism, aggression, or violence? How easily we fall in one or two or all of those categories in every unpleasant turn in our lives. However these serve no purpose at all but hurt other people and ourselves as well. It’s a vicious cycle of negativity if unchecked or removed.
So very true that life’s imperfections can simply and easily overwhelm and defeat a weak and fearful heart -- ‘have heard so many stories about that. That is just the reason we are often called to grow in wisdom and maturity particularly in our hearts. We must keep pace with the complex demands of living --- cope with life’s imperfection to make it through. With a heart formed in goodness and truth, courageous and firm in faith, one can trust that life’s difficulties or its imperfections will lose its power over us.
The level of faith, mustard seed of faith which God so requires from us, is worked-out not in our minds but in our hearts. Not easy to come by and difficult to work at. Still a heart perfect in its desire to learn what its been called to learn can hope to achieve that faith and succeed in life – a perfect heart in the midst of an imperfect life – and without a doubt a perfect heart blessed in every possible way.
Bye for now. :-)
posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 3:37 PM
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