"Forgiven and Loved"

I woke up thinking of all I had to do.

Model for Grandma,

Pack some clothes,

Laminate a paper for Mom,

Blog.

I came out after I had finished getting ready,

After my alone time with God,

After combing my hair and putting some gel in.

I ate a couple of pieces of toast,

Then moved to get things done.

I was interrupted by someone wanting to play a game.

In spite of everything on my to-do list, I said yes.

Yes.

Yes, I will play with you.

After beating him at checkers (in spite of not really remembering how to play),

She asked for Clue.

She pulled out the box,

Unfolded the board,

Shuffled three decks of cards

And placed one from each deck on the center of the board.

I slid the cards into the envelope,

Ripped pieces of paper off of the pad,

Asked someone to go get pencils.

I picked up the die,

Rolled a four,

She a nine,

He a ten.

He went first.

Players slid around the board,

Moving from room to room.

Voices guessed,

Mrs. White in the Study with a wrench,

Mr. Green in the Dining Room with the rope,

And the "infamous" Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom with a lead pipe.

Once she did it,

Once I did it,

Once he was terrified that he did it,

That the card in the envelope was his.

Really, his card was in my hand.

There's something about playing the detective,

Some sense of justice

That enjoys eliminating possibilities until only one remains,

Finding the one responsible,

Sometimes even by accident.

After solving the mystery five or six (or seven) times, we put the board away.

The guilty parties had been located and apprehended,

The evidence had been secured.

It was time to move on.

Someone slide the Clue box back into its spot,

Carefully extracted the box of Apples to Apples cards.

I thought for a moment of how we are all guilty,

How we are all imperfect,

How we all mess up so much,

How, in so many ways, I am like the character I used

Whose card inevitably ends up in the envelope much more frequently than those of the others.

In spite of it all,

We have all been offered a way out,

A way to be forgiven,

A way to learn to change,

A way to be made new.

We just have to take it.

She opened the box,

Said seven,

We each grabbed that number.

Someone flipped over a green card,

Became the judge,

Reminding me of another Judge,

Judging the feeble attempts of the imperfect,

Seeing our failures,

Noticing the few successes,

Just, but merciful,

Forgiving those who believe in His act of justice,

Not condemning the guilty who have been forgiven.

No condemnation.

Forgiven and loved.

The song "Forgiven and Loved"  is performed by Jimmy Needham.  Many thanks for this wonderful reminder that there is no condemnation and we truly are forgiven and loved.