People Can Change

 

When our now 35 year old daughter was in second grade at our local Catholic school, she came home with a new fangled idea----hand sanitizer.

"Why don't you just wash your hands with soap and water?" I asked, not believing that hand sanitizer could possibly do the trick, and clearly not having a clue about the challenges of second grade classrooms.

Now, as you can see from the picture above, I actually have a little bottle of sanitizer dangling from my purse.  Yes, people can change! 

How have you changed over the years?  How have your opinions, behaviors or thoughts matured?

For me, I am much more tolerant and accepting that not everyone thinks the way I do--even though I am right almost all of the time.  All kidding aside, I do have strong convictions, most especially because I know what Jesus has done for us, and I sincerely wish everyone, everywhere, would come to accept it.

But, along with age, I have--honestly--come to a greater understanding that other adults, sometimes informed, sometimes not so much, make their own decisions.  I will also realize that sometimes people slide into and out of their faith choices without a lot of thought.  This is not true for everyone, of course, but it is very sad when accidental drifting is the reason people leave the faith.

I would much prefer to know that you have spent a lot of time discerning your decisions, that you have not just grabbed a popular headline that seemed to make sense, and taken ownership of it.  I would much prefer that you dig deeper into the Church you support and the one you oppose, so you are well steeped in both.

For instance, if you don't believe in God's revelation about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, as Catholics profess, is it because you don't understand it?  Have you spent as much time studying what this is all about, or talking to a Church minister, before deciding it is all malarkey?

Have you investigated what the Church teaches about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and why, or have you gotten caught up in hearsay, spoken by non-Catholics, or false teachers?

I'm just saying--I think when we challenge ourselves to really, really think about things, it is possible we may be surprised that we can change.

If you are on Twitter, I would like to invite you to follow me.  You can find me by searching #@livingwaterjn7

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com