Several years ago one of our church leaders placed a quote on the board by C.S. Lewis. It read:

“There is someone I love, even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most…”

We will get to the conclusion of the quote in a moment, but take a few seconds and let this quote sink in. Do you have someone in mind? Is it someone close to you? How do you live with them?
Now for the full quote with the final sentence attached:

“There is someone I love, even though I don’t approve of what he does. There is someone I accept, though some of his thoughts and actions revolt me. There is someone I forgive, though he hurts the people I love the most. That person is me.“

Did you look introspectively at first or were you thinking of that colleague, friend, or family member that is the “bad” one? I think in a way we all have a tendency sometimes to look past ourselves when thinking of quotes like these, don’t we? It’s just human nature and the power of observation.  So where does that leave us?  Maybe at a point of self contemplation where we can become better, stronger, kinder.  Some questions to consider would be “What would you do if you could have an internal makeover?” and “What are you waiting for?”

Following up on a recent post I made on my Facebook page regarding the New Year my hope is to become more of a chain breaker, bridge builder, and vehicle of kindness.   I believe it would be impossible to do so without first recognizing imperfection, failure, and the ugly that sometimes lies in myself and all of us.  Self-examination is the first step and possibly the hardest.  The next is to get myself moving.  One of the ways I can do this is to use the gift of writing and the gift of giving a smile, a hug, or a kind word when I’m afforded the opportunity to do so.  I hope you will continue to follow me on this journey and understand that if nothing else I believe part of my purpose and maybe a large part is to help those that I have the ability to see are struggling.  Shouldn’t we all do that anyway or are we so frozen by what others think of us that we do nothing? 

As a Christian I could think of a myriad of Bible verses on all of this, but with full disclosure and awareness that my audience are not all in that category I will simply focus on the word “LOVE”.  Let’s just act in love.  Love for ourselves and love for others.  Good has a way of rising to the surface when that happens.  Find it in yourself and share it with those around you!