Good, better, and best

A wise woman once told me (and then repeated it several times throughout my life) that life is not often a question of right and wrong as we grow older, but one of good better and best. Having always stuck with me, this idea has directed many of my steps in my life. I don't claim to have made all the best decisions, but that is how I learn. I am just as thankful for my mistakes as my successes, because either way I am growing.

There is a song called "Picture of Jesus" and every time, it makes me think of that wise old woman, my grandmother, and the life she leads. She doesn't do it all right. She hasn't made all the right choices, that is not the key to her wonderful and full life. It is her submission to the idea that quiet service, overwhelming love, and humility are the only ways to live. I have never seen such a beautiful picture of Jesus than when I look at the lives of my grandparents. They grew up together, learned together and failed together, and that, my friends, is the church. That, my friends, is a "best" decision. Love has truly conquered all in their lives, yet I have never seen any life like theirs.

So my conclusion must be this. My life in service to Jesus will look much different than yours. The way we learn and grow may not match, but in the end, the church celebrates in this, celebrates in the moments of community that revolve around sharing life together, growing up together and failing together. There is not always necessarily right and wrong, there is different, there is mismatched, and there is good better and best. Let us love these distinctions.