(my forget-me-not thoughts. more of a journal entry, but you can read it if your in the mood for a sermon)
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
- Theodore Roosevelt
i have been thinking about mercy a lot.
on sunday i had an experience. third hour was a combined meeting so the ladies (me included) met in the chapel with the men. as i was sitting next to dave, the piano started for the opening hymn. i looked up to see the pianist was an older man who once stayed after church explaining to dave his list of medical issues. he has physical limitations and maybe some special needs. he was playing and let's just say what he lacked in theory and timing, he made up for with feeling. the gentleman leading stood in front, confidently, and led to no real particular beat, yet happy, like it was no problem at all. i could almost feel the love the congregation had for this man playing the piano. it wasn't uncomfortable and they allowed him to mess up and succeed at the same time.
moving, changing jobs, building a house has me feeling a little hectic and re-realizing where i fall short...so i have had mercy on my mind. i realize that through the atonement Jesus took on himself all our weaknesses, and for that i am grateful. i also realize that i need to do the same thing. my part of the atonement is when other's weaknesses affect me, to choose to show mercy.
each year my brother sends out a few quotes to memorize for money as part of our big family get together. i have thought a lot about them.
Passage #1 “We need to get back to basic principles of recognizing the good and praiseworthy within the family…. Family loyalty will emerge when we reinforce the good and the positive and bridle our negative thoughts as we seek after those things that are of good report.”
Passage #2 “What each of us does need is family, friends, employers, and brothers and sisters who support us, who have the patience to teach us, who believe in us, and who believe we are trying to do the best we can, in spite of our weaknesses. What ever happened to giving each other the benefit of the doubt? Whatever happened to hoping that another person would succeed or achieve? Whatever happened to rooting for each other?”
Passage #3 “Be one who nurtures and who builds. Be one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart, who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them. Be fair with your competitors, whether in business, athletics, or elsewhere. Don’t get drawn into some of the parlance of our day and try to ‘win’ by intimidation or by undermining someone’s character. Lend a hand to those who are frightened, lonely, or burdened. If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.”
we got extra points if we did a little research to find out who was being quoted. it was marvin j ashton. it's a great talk. you can read it here
anyway, made me want to be better at allowing people to mess up and still succeed at the same time....less critical and more gracious.
