PAUL MERRILL
About the time you read this, I will have just left my European sister... we visited Amy and her family in their now native Belgium.
I love her. We get along well. We have had our times of differences, but for the most part now we truly enjoy each other. It is a bit heart-breaking that we live so far apart.
Anyhow, this artwork is from the outside of a package she sent. She re-used a package our mom sent her. (Mom died around two years ago.) Amy can make art out of almost anything.
I know that it’s a long way from Thanksgiving. But I’m thankful today. Two years ago, My mom passed away. I am thankful for her life and the indelible influence she had on me.
(This was a letter to the editor of The Dallas Morning News that she got published on Thanksgiving Day, 2000. You can see that she shared my love of writing.)
You never know when the past will meet the present.
Two weekends weeks ago, we attended the graduation ceremony for our dear friend Stefani. Little did I know, but that day the pastor from my junior high and high school years was being given an honorary doctorate. He also gave the commencement address (excellent).
After the ceremony, Heather, Rachel and I went to greet both him and his wife. They were super nice! I told them how their influence on my life so many years ago was still lasting to this day.
Moral of the story? You may be making an impact on someone today — and that impact may last a long time.
(The horrible photo is from my cel phone — but that is the couple, on stage.)
If you’re in North America, you will have seen the popular “Coexist” bumper sticker. I don’t like it.
Why? Coexist means to tolerate. And tolerate means to barely get along with.
I would propose a better sticker: “Love.” I think it’s much better to aspire to loving those who believe differently than we do — rather than simply living with them on the same street.
What would it take to love people different than us? That’s your homework. It may take a few days to figure out.
Credit goes to a Polish graphic designer, Piotr Mlodozeniec, who designed the first coexist image.
Today marks 20 years of marriage. Heather is an amazing woman, and God has blessed us to stay together this long! We have caused each other some pain — and shared much joy too. Life is tough, but it’s a wonderful thing to be able to share it intimately and in a long-term way with another.
I am thankful — both to Heather and to God.
ps Michael Hyatt has some great reflections on longevity here.
We went out to eat the other week and I grabbed a mint on the way out the door. Indeed, it was a mint-and-a-half.
That reminded me of my dad’s coin collection. He used to love collecting mutant coins that were mis-stamped in production. Sadly, in a sibling’s divorce, that collection was lost to the errant spouse.
Takeaway: what does this mean to us? Well, a few things:
1. How can we accept the “mutant” people around us?
2. How can we not just accept them — but appreciate the ways they approach life differently than we do?
3. This brings me to why I hate the word “tolerance”. That implies just putting up with someone. Isn’t it much better to love that someone? Even if it’s really hard to love them, the rewards can outweigh the pain.
