The saints among us

I remember watching the Rich Mullins video "Homeless Man" and one of the people was talking about a quote which went something like this:

You can tell a saint, not by how much he shows you, but by how little he conceals.

I went to prayer meeting about a week and a half ago (the 8th), and the pastor's wife was sharing about preparations for Blue Jean Sunday. Now Blue Jean Sunday is an annual event my church has where everyone comes in casual attire (hence the "blue jean" part), and after service at church, the entire English congregation goes to a local park and has fun eating, talking, playing games, etc.. It's a time where all of us at the church, young and old, can come together and fellowship. So she was sharing about reserving a picnic spot for the BBQ. Apparently because we had planned for Blue Jean Sunday so late, it was near impossible to find a spot that still had open reservations. Finally she had found one, but she described the grass and brush around the picnic area as "wild".

Now my pastor's wife is one of the nicest, sweetest, gracious, loving people I have ever met in my life. And I've met quite a number of good people. But here she was, just sharing her struggles about being worried we might not be able to reserve a spot for the picnic, and being angry at herself for planning so late that the only picnic area we could reserve was less than satisfactory. But then she shared with us that she rejected the ideas in her mind that this would turn out badly. Instead she chose to believe that God would work through, and indeed, use these circumstances to bless Blue Jean Sunday even more. After she shared, we prayed according to that belief. As it turned out, the BBQ turned out to be a wonderful time for all of the people who attended.

As I listened to my pastor's wife share about her difficulty in being joyful about the preparations, I saw how true the quote was. Saints aren't saints because they teach you things, but because they live transparently, seeking after holiness.