Taking the Good with the Bad

As my parents and I sat around the table playing Skip-Bo earlier this year, I thought of the couple who taught me the game. The man was neither good nor godly, yet I learned from him. I learned more from him than just how to play Skip-Bo. I learned about God, and life, and living, and learning, and loving, and serving. I learned what I don't want to do, about the legacy I don't want to leave, and I received a lot of chances to re-examine my own great needs for restoration and forgiveness from God. God ordained a lot of good within the bad.

Good has come from "bad*" in other situations, too, like from the teachings of a pastor who resigned a church position. He preached the unfailing Word of God, and I learned from his sermons, whether or not his life looked exactly how I'd like. I don't want to forget the "God-things" he taught me.

[I put the term "bad" in quotes not to discount the evil or sin in the world, but to acknowledge that the word "bad" carries with it a lot of negative connotations. Often, people think that the "bad" isn't redeemable. I disagree. We're all bad, haven fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). But I believe in a God who can redeem all things (2 Cor 5:17).]

When life gets hard and people especially are "bad," we tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater. We swear off anything associated with the person, fail to speak the person's name, and sometimes, even deny we know the person. I don't think that's the correct response. When we don't acknowledge the bad that happens, we deny the sin nature that exists in all of us. We don't admit that we ourselves are also capable of bad. We don't seek out and celebrate the redemption and restoration of God. We throw away good things just because they have bad associations.

In and through the Holy Spirit's power, I've chosen to enjoy and celebrate the game of Skip-Bo, even if it comes with some hard-to-accept associations with a bad man. I've chosen to say the name of that pastor that left the church and admit that I learned from him, even if other people won't. Am I perfect? No way, no how! There are a lot of times that I deny the bad in life just so I don't have to admit my own bad. But I don't want to live that way. I don't want to miss out on God's good just because the bad exists. God is sovereign over both.

Wisconsin: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day dawned fairly late (at least for us 5 am risers) and started with a jog at the apartment gym, since I was too scared to go outside in the cold. Afterwards, I settled in with this muesli breakfast.

Brother eats frozen berries, granola, and yogurt every morning, and after trying it, I have to say he's onto something. I might need to add this into my breakfast rotation at home!

We finished the cookies and had a little time before we needed to cook dinner, so I asked Brother to bundle up and go for a walk outside with me. Lo and behold, the sun was out, and it was beautiful!

Brother lives downtown, so we had a nice walking path and some beautiful houses along the way. 

Thanksgiving dinner was ham, green beans, and mashed potatoes. The ham and mashed potatoes were great. The green beans (usually my favorite part) however, were lackluster. Oh well. We dished everything up and ate at the granite island in my brother's kitchen.

I took a nap post dinner. I know that's a "no-no," but I did it anyway, and enjoyed it. In lieu of dinner, we had dessert and coffee and played a game of Carcassonne.

One game of Carcassonne was enough for Brother, who has memorized most of the pieces. I, however, didn't want to call it a night, so I asked to do something else. He pulled up some Penn and Teller Fool Us re-runs and we watched those for awhile. Then I tried to console myself and pack up, as I needed to leave in the morning. That didn't work so well.

More on goodbyes tomorrow.