A Pile of Mismatched Scraps

In late January, the 29th to be exact, I (Dianne) did something I had never done before.  I stood on the Arkansas state capitol steps and participated in a political rally.  It was a protest against the President's executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries.  I was there to show support and to hear stories from those affected by the order.  One statement stood out to me in particular, "I know what it is like to wake up every day in a country that does not want you, that despises you."

Joyce Elliott, an Arkansas state Senator was describing her experience as an African-American in the United States, in the south.  But she could also be describing the experience of the Roma peoples we work with in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, or the Syrian refugee, or the US-born Hispanic child or the Iranian-born doctor with a green card.  These people who are looked at with suspicion, distrust, and contempt because they look or sound different.  The "Others" among us.

I can never imagine how this feels because my birthright brings me a certain amount of privilege.  So I use my privilege to call attention to the injustice turned on these bearers of the Image of God - dark or light skin; bi, straight, trans; Atheist, Christian, Muslim; rich or poor.  The distinctions we humans make don't matter to God.  We are all created in God's Image and reflect the Image, marred as it is, to one another.  When we limit who we know and interact with, we limit our knowledge of the Creator reflected through them.  Our diversity is beautiful to God and through our diversity we learn more about God.

I visited my Aunt recently and she showed me a quilt she is working on.  The top was pieced by her mother/my grandmother over forty years ago from bits and pieces of fabric from old clothes.  To most of us, we would have seen a pile of mismatched scraps not worth much.  My grandma saw something beautiful and useful. Our world is much like that pile of mismatched scraps.  But when we look at one another through God's lens, we might catch a glimpse of a beautiful quilt.  A quilt whose pieced-together fabric is warm, useful, and full of love.