Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Of forgiveness and a better past...

"...nobody is perfect. You just have to close your eyes and breathe out and let the puzzle of the human heart be what it is."
Lily Owens, "The Secret Life of Bees," by Sue Monk Kidd
 
"The puzzle of the human heart..." that is an amazing description, isn't it? I recently re-read this beautiful book and what jumped out at me this time are two themes...one being forgiveness. (The other one is freedom--for another day). Lily's mother left her as a little child and she struggled with that throughout her fourteen years. She couldn't allow herself to believe that her mother did it intentionally, but that her absence was a forced separation...what mother would ever leave her child? But, faced with the facts...her mother had actually left her behind, Lily was angry. Her anger was tempered somewhat by finding out the truth about her mother's leaving; her mother was completely mentally undone and she sought refuge away from Lily's father--not necessarily Lily. Pondering this, Lily thinks this beautiful thought above. Gradually, in life, we must realize we can't control the past. We may not have much control of the future, either, but we sure can't control the past. The human heart is a mystery we cannot explain or change. What we need to do is try to have compassion for what we may not understand. Human beings are puzzling creatures and they can't always be explained. But, by opening our hearts with compassion, we can try to connect with people as Jesus did. Love, heidi

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