It has taken many years for my adopted kids to realize life in my family was not so bad after all and that I am worthy of their trust. It has taken many, many years of patience for all three of us to begin the journey toward healing.
Even though we each have very different lives and backgrounds, there is one thing in common we share, and it has enabled us to work toward unity again. That precious attribute is love. Without love, we never could have mended any of our fences. Without love, there would have been no reason to reconnect.
I love my kids, even though they still have the power to absolutely drive me nuts. Even though they still can hurt me more deeply than anything else, even the aches and pains of old age!
Before I adopted my kids, I had fasted and prayed for children who needed love, and that's exactly what God gave me. There are two morals to this story. Be very careful what you pray for, and never give up hope. Ever.
For the last couple of years, an old, old song from my childhood has been heavy on my mind because of the excruciating polarization of our country, our society and our world. Do you remember this one?
What the world needs now is love sweet love,
It's the only thing that there's just too little of,
What the world needs now is love sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.
The world has changed so much since I was 5 years old. And yet, what the world needs now isn't any different than what we needed back then.
Several years ago, I made socks for all the women in my family and for all my closest female friends.
28 pairs in one year! (Plus two extras.) My sock project left me with literally a pound of sock yarn leftovers...
...too small to make anything of much worth.
The leftovers are many different brands. They've come from many different breeds of sheep from many different places in the world. Some are a little thicker than others, even though they are supposed to be the same size. Some have a different twist. Some of them contain different types of fiber, such as silk or nylon. Some even have lumps. Some of them will turn to felt if I put them in hot water and wring them recklessly. Some will shrink with that treatment. Most of the colors clash when I bundle them all together. And none of them have enough substance to become more than a little ball of fluff.
Yet just look what happens when you put them all together with something they can all bond with in common.
Suddenly, their differences make them strong and powerful. They have become something of great worth, and they can provide warmth, security and comfort. Each color can do so much more than it could do alone, but each color still has its own unique beauty and personality. Unified, their differences are even more beautiful.
To me, love is just like that black yarn. It could be white yarn. It could be red yarn. The color doesn't matter. Love pulls us all together, regardless of where we come from, what type of families we came from or are raising, regardless of our education or lack thereof, regardless of what language we speak, regardless of our political beliefs, regardless of whether we can hold a tune or hit a high note. Or crochet a vest...
While researching the topic of unity recently, I came upon a Ted Talk by an American who had served many years in the Peace Corps in Africa. His primary responsibility was to build a community in an impoverished area where there were many people but no unity. He said the word community means common unity, everyone working together for the same goals.
When he first arrived in Ghana, the parents, many of them single parents due to a high mortality rate thanks to unsanitary conditions in which the people lived, could not afford to send their children to school, and the children often were sick with sometimes fatal gastrointestinal disease. The first thing Jason Rosenfeld taught the people was to wash their hands before eating. Other volunteers taught the people how to make soap. Some of the people began selling or trading soap, which enabled them to send their children to school. The children were healthier because of better hygiene. The circle of life within the community grew stronger and stronger because of very simple and basic education.
Jason Rosenfeld says community or common unity is when a neighbor sees another struggling and offers a helping hand. Community is when a problem needs to be solved and everyone comes together to find a solution. Community is the glue that binds us to one another, giving us a common sense of purpose and belonging. Without these things, the community ceases to be. It's just a bunch of people living in the same place.
Just like a bunch of forgotten yarn balls taking up storage space in the same dark closet.
When you bring the yarn balls together with a common thread or yarn, the yarn balls become something beautiful.
We, as fellow citizens of the earth, need to come together, just like that big collection of diversified yarn. We need to heal and help heal. I wanted to plug in Aerosmith's "Come Together" to wind this up because that was the phrase pounding in my heart. But the song below does an even better job of getting this message across.
Let's not just dream of a better world. Let's MAKE a better world. Together.
Amen sister!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sue!
DeleteI totally agree. I try to be patient with the people around me. I breath in and breath out and send good thoughts to all even the ones who call me names. And it makes a difference. To me at least. :-)
ReplyDeleteAll the best!
You are a wonderful example, Regula! More people should have your outlook and spirit!
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