Life done plain

A recent conversation reminded me of a moment of family history. The conversation had to do with the need for the church to be "salt" for its community. My mind flashed back to a moment over 40 years ago. We were returning to the Philippines after a year of furlough and were doing so via a Norwegian freighter. This freighter happened to have a swimming pool; and though small, it promised to be the hit of the trip...once we got into warm water.

You see, the pool was simply filled with water from the ocean. Finally nearing Hawaii the pool was filled and the three of us boys spent most of the day in it. The salt water was a little surprising, but not daunting. That evening, after dinner with the Captain, my younger brother, Chris, climbed up on the Captain's lap. He was about 5.This happened frequently because my toe-headed brother reminded the Captain of his own young son. Needing to know, Chris looked into the Captain's eyes and asked, "Why do you put salt in your water? I like mine plain." Laughter erupted after a minute of trying to figure out what Chris as referring to.

It seems life done plain can certainly be preferable. Salt, though healing and preserving, brings a sting that is unpleasant and sometimes painful. Most of us spend time, effort and money to avoid pain when possible. But when it comes to our lives together, I pray that we might make a new effort to give and receive "salt" gracefully and in love.