Subtitle: Or, at the least, I think I believe
Sub-subtitle: Or, at the most, I believe I know
“I can live life…”
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other. As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3.12-14; my emphases)
I, being human, blessed with mind and heart, soul and will, have the capacity to choose. I can (that is, I am able to) choose to express compassion or indifference, kindness or malice, humility or arrogance, meekness or callousness, patience or intolerance.
As I choose to be – compassionate, sharing your joys and sorrows, kind, caring for you with a gentle and generous spirit, humble, regarding myself neither higher than I ought nor lower than I can, meek, expressing my anger appropriately, and patient, accepting, not merely tolerating, and forgiving you and me just as we are – my life is characterized by a blessed balance.
In this blessed balance:
I can live life with a clear conscience, an even temper, an open hand, and a tender heart.
I can live life acknowledging the past, anticipating the future, and accepting the present.
I can live life more challenged and less consternated by change.
I can live life more open to new possibilities and less afraid of ambiguity.
I can live life more trusting of you and less obsessed with a need to try to control my environment – my circumstances and, yes, you.
I can live life acknowledging your truth and less tempted to name it (defame it as) something else when it disagrees with mine, which, undoubtedly, it (and you) will!
I can live life recognizing and receiving both joy and sorrow alike; for each, in its own way, reliably reminds me that I am alive.
© 2021 PRA
occasional observations of mind and heart, soul and spirit 
Paul!!
Thank you for this!!! You just gave me homework for this weekend!! First, I have remember to focus on this scripture passage “ As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other. As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Then I have to focus on the concept of “blessed balance” to determine whether or not I have that in my life right now! I loved all the things you listed that we can do in our if we have the blessed balance. Though I know I cyan currently say I have and are doing some of them, others allude me. So I’ll look closely and reflect how I can achieve some of the things I don’t have!!
Love
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Loretta, one of the aspects of biblical lists (at least, as I read and interpret them) that I summon myself to recall every time I read and reflect on them anew is that (I think…I believe) they are not multiple choices offerings. That is, I am not called (allowed!) to pick and choose among the listed virtues either to comfort or to congratulate myself on the ones I see in myself or to dismiss or to negate as insignificant that elements that I do not find in myself (or consider too difficult to achieve). In this re-realization, I appreciate your approach (one, which, I confess, I haven’t always adopted and followed): “I’ll look closely and reflect how I can achieve some of the things I don’t have!!”
Love you
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