I had an email exchange with a friend from something I shared
in a recent newsletter. I enjoy it when y’all click reply because I do respond; it is always nice to know someone is reading.
Towards the end of our exchange I said, “maybe I should
change my tag line to be the good?” The
reply back was, Yes! I sat there for a
moment and smiled because this was something I had been thinking about for a
few months.
Over the summer I was immersed in seeing the good here in the countryside but when I left home things looked different. Salespeople were rude, those working the floor were unhelpful or just refused to help. Drivers have become increasingly reckless and as a result I began shopping online, changed where I shop in person and decided staying home more often sounded nice.
After months of withdrawing, I realized that being secluded was not the answer because negativity is everywhere. It even has this way of creeping into our homes if we spend too much time online or on the television.
We have this tribal mentality that is growing and this does
nothing but divide people. This is not biblical y’all, God sent us Christ to
save us from the earth and yet we are still struggling to get along.
Why do we struggle so much? I think we forget that unity is about eternity. There is a rule of law and Christ came to add to those rules. This doesn’t mean giving up our core values to form unity, we begin in truth where love and respect follows.
Believe me when I say you will not influence everyone you encounter. I know this because I talk to people all the time, but I never ask their religious or political beliefs. Many times, I just begin with, “how is your day going?” Those other topics normally surface later and that is good because these discussions have opened my eyes and heart to what is really happening around us.
Some say this darkness is a lack of
Christ, others say it is the broken family and the list goes on. I like to keep things simple because the
truth is, everything begins at home.
We live in time where it is not enough to see the good, we must be the good and we must be present.
But I must admit there is always a hesitation to transform a tagline in fear that it may offend or even turn off some of my readers.
I remember this when I was writing my blog, Garden Up Green. I enhanced my tagline to “doing more now where you live” At first, it did not go over very well so later I dropped the word now.
Me changing my tagline here from see the good to be the good is
about transformation. The first “116” blog posts are signed, “see the good”
followed by my name. Those posts will
remain with that signature because we should never forget how things
started.
In that email exchange it was that one-word reply that helped me realize my actions are about “being” and they do reflect goodness. I do not always get it right but I try and that is what matters because that is what God is witnessing. He knows our heart and our intentions; y’all that is who I serve.
So, I am transforming this space because there is much to be done in this life. I will continue to write in all four categories because my lifestyle really is the heartbeat behind this space. For encouragement and goodness, you are in the right place. Let’s go be the good and let's begin today.
Be the good,
Carole