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!
Reverend Dean Ziegler
Retired Minister
Dean is a retired elder in WPAUMC & a retired District Supervisor in the Butler District. Dean is part of the Robert E. Harper Men’s Chorus; loves participating in the CUMC music program & has a passion for photography & macadamia nut cookies! He and his wife, Linda, live in Cranberry Township.
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