So tell the truth ... when you read the title of this post,
what was your first thought? The famous song recorded by The Beatles in
1964? The high school coming of age movie released in 1987 starring a young
Patrick Dempsey and an even younger Amanda Peterson? Yet another whiny, feeling
sorry for myself discourse listing all the miserable reasons why it appears I
am destined to remain single for the rest of my life? Or ... remember ... we're
telling the truth here ... did some of you think perhaps I had attempted to buy
my way into someone's heart only to discover that even cold hard cash doesn't
do me any good when it comes to love and romance? And for the record, I
couldn't afford to attempt to buy the love of a stray dog right now much less
that of another person, so no worries on me driving a DeLorean a la Richard
Gere style in Pretty Woman being the hidden meaning behind the title for this
evening's post.
I did something this morning I usually only do if I'm sick or so depressed that being asleep is far more bearable than being awake ... I woke up at 7:30, let my dogs outside to potty, fed them their breakfast and then promptly went back to bed, fell asleep and slept until almost noon. Despite the fact that my yard was a foot high, that I had three loads of laundry to fold, food to cook and a stack of clothes to iron, I fixed myself a protein shake and sat down on the couch and turned on the television, and that's where I remained for the next couple of hours. I remember my kids watching the movie "Can't Buy Me Love" when they were teenagers ... they were teenagers after all ... but there is absolutely no justifiable reason as to why I watched the last hour of the movie after I finally woke up today. But that's exactly what I did, and you know what? That crazy teenage movie had some big lessons in it for me ... some really, really big lessons indeed.
It's especially intriguing to me that those reminder lessons came to me the day after my daughter and son-in-law took me to see "Woman in Gold" ... a movie about an elderly Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who sues the Austrian government for the return of treasured artwork that was stolen from her family by the Nazis during World War II. As I sat in the theater watching the story unfold before me on the screen, my heart ached for the Jewish people ... for the terror forced upon them ... for the inhumane and despicable treatment they received ... for the agonizing knowledge that for most, death would be their only means of escape ... for the inexplicable judgment they suffered simply for being who they were.
As I was mowing the lawn today, it struck me that it doesn't matter whether it's high school kids or church members or co-workers or leaders of countries ... nothing good ever comes from labels or categories or exclusivity or judgment ... absolutely nothing good. Young people end their lives every day because they feel like they don't fit in. Churches split because they can't agree on the "correct" interpretation of Scripture. Employees leave their jobs because they feel excluded or they don't receive a promotion. And leaders of countries? That's a can of worms I'm too tired and too smart to even begin to open tonight.
So here's the thing, friends ... it's time to stop. I believe with all my heart that we are all the same in God's eyes ... every single one of us is the same in His eyes. No groups, no cliques, no labels, no divisions, no hate, no rankings, no categories ... I believe with all my heart that we are all the same in His eyes. And you know what else I believe with all my heart? I believe He wants us to look at one another the same way ... no groups, no cliques, no labels, no divisions, no hate, no rankings, no categories. Go ahead and ponder that for a while ... maybe even ponder that one for a good long while.
Oh and for the record, you don't buy love ... you give it away.
I did something this morning I usually only do if I'm sick or so depressed that being asleep is far more bearable than being awake ... I woke up at 7:30, let my dogs outside to potty, fed them their breakfast and then promptly went back to bed, fell asleep and slept until almost noon. Despite the fact that my yard was a foot high, that I had three loads of laundry to fold, food to cook and a stack of clothes to iron, I fixed myself a protein shake and sat down on the couch and turned on the television, and that's where I remained for the next couple of hours. I remember my kids watching the movie "Can't Buy Me Love" when they were teenagers ... they were teenagers after all ... but there is absolutely no justifiable reason as to why I watched the last hour of the movie after I finally woke up today. But that's exactly what I did, and you know what? That crazy teenage movie had some big lessons in it for me ... some really, really big lessons indeed.
It's especially intriguing to me that those reminder lessons came to me the day after my daughter and son-in-law took me to see "Woman in Gold" ... a movie about an elderly Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who sues the Austrian government for the return of treasured artwork that was stolen from her family by the Nazis during World War II. As I sat in the theater watching the story unfold before me on the screen, my heart ached for the Jewish people ... for the terror forced upon them ... for the inhumane and despicable treatment they received ... for the agonizing knowledge that for most, death would be their only means of escape ... for the inexplicable judgment they suffered simply for being who they were.
As I was mowing the lawn today, it struck me that it doesn't matter whether it's high school kids or church members or co-workers or leaders of countries ... nothing good ever comes from labels or categories or exclusivity or judgment ... absolutely nothing good. Young people end their lives every day because they feel like they don't fit in. Churches split because they can't agree on the "correct" interpretation of Scripture. Employees leave their jobs because they feel excluded or they don't receive a promotion. And leaders of countries? That's a can of worms I'm too tired and too smart to even begin to open tonight.
So here's the thing, friends ... it's time to stop. I believe with all my heart that we are all the same in God's eyes ... every single one of us is the same in His eyes. No groups, no cliques, no labels, no divisions, no hate, no rankings, no categories ... I believe with all my heart that we are all the same in His eyes. And you know what else I believe with all my heart? I believe He wants us to look at one another the same way ... no groups, no cliques, no labels, no divisions, no hate, no rankings, no categories. Go ahead and ponder that for a while ... maybe even ponder that one for a good long while.
Oh and for the record, you don't buy love ... you give it away.
1 comment:
Beautiful...And you give so much of it away, Terrie...
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