Goodness

Gracious.  Great Balls of Fire.  Following on the heels of yesterday's post, today is Good Friday.  So of course, I looked it up.  It appears that the biblical "good" is just another word for "holy."  Not wanting to repeat my thoughts from yesterday, I thought I would focus on general goodness in this post.

As a child, I was known as a "good girl."  I went to church, confessed my sins, got good grades, obeyed my parents, said my nighttime prayers, pledged my loyalty to the flag and the Girl Scouts, and invited every girl in my class to my birthday party.  I wore goodness on my sleeve no matter how difficult, boring or restrictive it was.

And then I turned 13.  It was all downhill from there.

But the truth is, I don't really believe that I am a good person, at least not in the way I would like to be.  I am quick to anger (ask my kids), resentful, accusatory, selfish, and sneaky.  In other words, I am human.  When I think of goodness, I think of other people whom I perceive as good.  For instance, my friend Allyn, who brings me flowers when she visits.  I doubt if she realizes the impact that has on me.  No one brings me flowers . . . except Allyn.  It's a simple gesture, born of goodness, but it makes me feel . . . well, good!  My friend Margaret has so much goodness that she spreads around, whether it's her gifts of baked goods, her devotion to everyone in her large family, her volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity, or her church-based charity.  If anyone I know is going to heaven, it's Margaret.  And then there are my friends Jim and Lois, who have done more for me since Pete died than anyone else, from remodeling my bathroom and kitchen to building the raised beds in my garden to helping me erect my greenhouse to building a pergola to creating a tavern in my basement . . . and the list goes on and on.  All of this from the goodness of their hearts.  And I have to add my friend Kathy to this list.  She is the one who knows me better than anyone, who has laughed and cried with me so many times (and who is likely to blame for most of my hangovers).  Kathy is generous and kind and forgiving and trustworthy.  She is goodness personified.

Of course, there are many more people in my life who would have to be listed under the title "Good People I Know."  I am blessed with many good people on my journey here.  So much so that I am always shocked when I discover, once again, that there are also evil people in the world.  The concept is so simple:  if you do good, you feel good.  What do you feel when you do evil?  I know, I know . . . doing evil makes some people feel good.  I just don't get it.  And I never will.

Today is Good Friday.  And I am in love with the good people of my world and of the world at large.