Simple Things

“And what would you like?”

I answered in an instant: “Peace on earth. Justice for all. Every child protected. Breakthroughs on cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease….”

She could have hit me. And I wouldn’t have blamed her.

Thing is, the woman who asked me the question was a waitress at Cracker Barrel. (Sometimes I get in moods where a simple answer just won’t do.)

But… simplicity is a virtue.

Simplicity: not simple-mindedness that ignores hard realities and offers up easy, and worthless, solutions. Not closed-mindedness that refuses to learn more about complicated issues and insists on bumpersticker answers.

I’m thinking of:

• The simplicity of loving others regardless of their response.
• The simplicity of forgiving others as a matter of trust in God, not a matter of balanced moral scales.
• The simplicity of caring for others because they happen to be our neighbors.
• The simplicity of believing in goodness and hope for the world, in spite of what we see around us, because we know we see only a small part of the picture.
• The simplicity of blessing others, regardless of merit.
• The simplicity of worshiping and showing up with our families whether we feel like it or not on a given Sunday.
• The simplicity of being childlike, even when we are old and aware.

If we settle our minds and set our hearts on those responses, life becomes a lot simpler doesn’t it?

See you in Church!