Flowers on the Wall

Greetings Dear Reader,

Years ago, when we purchased our first house in Madison we were discussing how we going to decorate the home.  The house was a fifties era ranch house with an excellent kitchen.  In the basement was a bar with a long block wall that was painted from floor to ceiling in 1970’s bright orange.  It was the only thing in the house that I saw that was unpleasant.

Avalon told me first thing that what she wished to change was “that” wall.  I agreed heartily.  Eventually one of my comments revealed that I was speaking of the basement wall.  To my chagrin I was informed that in the small dining room adjacent to the kitchen I so loved was a wall covered in daisy patterned wall paper.  The daisies were seventies orange, green, and yellow.  In my excitement about the usability of the kitchen I had not even noticed the wall.  Once I noticed that wall and the pattern I also heartily agreed that this wall needed to be changed. 

It is our nature that we do not notice the ugly when we are enamored of the beautiful.  This is actually a good thing.  The problem occurs when we forget about the beautiful and see only the ugly.  Then again “ugly” wallpaper with bad colours was at one point loved by someone.  It was loved by someone enough for them to cover the largest wall in their dining room with it. The room where they dined as a family was where this wallpaper hung.

I wonder how much better I would become at following Christ if I never saw the ugly, or if when I did see it I only remembered the beautiful?  It is in the seeing of things that we find out where our hearts truly are.  A friend may betray me, but do I abandon that friend?  Do I end relationships just because people do not do what it right?  How can I do this and claim that I know how to love unconditionally?  The wallpaper may need changing, but that does not mean the house is useless.  Since it is evident that at times I see what I wish to see and am blind to other things, perhaps I need to use that truth as a filter in my dealing with others.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."