The Good In Me

I was raised by a religious mother. She took us always to church. The first words out of my mouth (as I’ve been told) were “Jesus loves me.” Yes, I was raised very much with religion. Children raised with religion may rebel later on. Some may turn to evil. Some may reject their teaching, yet remain decent people. Others follow steadfastly in their parents’ footsteps, continuing traditions of church, prayer, and other spiritually motivating activities. Different from my three “religious” sisters, I was always searching for certainty that the precepts I was being taught were completely the truth. There were just some things I could not accept. Today I neither reject my religious teachings. Nor do I proclaim them, for I’ve become a person mediocre in my beliefs, yet I remain undeniably firm in my conviction that God exists and is there for us. I was never one to drink, do drugs, or sleep around. Yet neither did I keep the Sabbath holy in the way my church explained it be done, nor have I prayed both morning and night or made scripture reading a daily habit. Whether it comes from my upbringing or from just the personality I was born with, there are some nice characteristics that define me: Like all my sisters, I am kind and thoughtful. In addition, I am quite forgiving. If someone wrongs me, I simply let it go. I’ll feel annoyed for a while and I won’t be able to forget it, but I do not dwell on others’ transgressions. If, in fact, one who wronged me wanted to be my friend again, I would let them back in, hoping they’d not wrong me again. If they proved to be relentlessly horrible, I’d cut my ties with them. I am no angel. I do not spend hours in the pursuit of righteous service projects for the betterment of humanity. I whine about my trials yet am appreciative of my blessings. I go about my life being as considerate of others as I can; I don’t raise my voice or yell except in rare instances of what I perceive to be righteous anger. I’m probably too lenient with people because I find it difficult to cause others pain or discomfort, and if I do, it’s not deliberate on my part. I had this pointed out to me by my daughter one time when I said something jokingly which she said hurt her badly. For anyone I’ve hurt this way, I’m sorry. I enjoy teasing the ones I love, yet still I strive to do unto others as I would have them do to me.. I see my daughter today and the magnificent mother she has become, and I’m reminded of a sweet song from the “Sound of Music”: “So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.”