Learning to Love

I am in the process of reading a book. I really don't know what attracted me to the book, other than having a title which interested me.  It's called The Church of 80% Sincerity, written by David Roche. I will say only that I am about half way through the book and find several instances where I could disagree with David. In addition to that I have been convicted concerning an area of life where I personally have struggled with failure. 

Anne Lamott wrote the foreword to David's book and introduced him to me with amazing clarity. She expresses her love of David Roche's life and story, recalls her fist contact with him in a half-hour conversation about God, and begins to educate the reader on the humor, perplexity, love, peace and wonder of David Roche. I will further tell you this book is not what most would consider a"regular" religious book, but there are numerous  references to faith, grace, prayer, and other subject matter we associate with the Christian religion.

David Roche, in these words quoted from the book's foreword, was born with a huge benign tumor on the bottom left quadrant of his face, which surgeons tried to remove when he was very young. In the process they removed his lower lip, and then gave him such extensive radiation that the lower part of his face stopped growing, and he was covered  with plum-colored burns."

I shudder with the very description that has been given, and I feel sorrow for the life of a young child that grew up with perhaps the worst kind of deformity imaginable. Talking was never easy, but every word he said would draw attention to his face. Smiling was almost impossible with only an upper lip, and most of his smiles were never recognized as smiles. I cannot fathom the depression he faced every day in trying to associate with classmates, or "fit in" with various groups, while finding so much rejection. 

Now in his sixties, David has become known as a man of humor, laughter, information, and best of all, a man of grace. He gives lectures on the acceptance of self, and learning to love and respect self while dealing positively with any adversities. Here is the part I like most. David reveals in his messages that, "all of us have hidden scary scarred parts inside us. We have the soul disfigurement, the fear deep inside that we're unacceptable."

I earlier confessed my conviction when reading David's story, because I, too, have been one to treat people like David with less than loving acceptance. Can you imagine his testimony about arriving at a point where he accepted himself?  His lectures will convince you that whatever imperfection you have, and yes we all have them, will become invisible to us and to others when we learn the meaning of unconditional love. Our imperfection might not be as visible as David's, but he gives us all the hope of believing we can taste that love ourselves. 

I have pondered the parts of David's book that I have read and have reached the conclusion we all need a good lesson on self acceptance. We are the way God made us, and while we may not win the Miss America or the Mr. Universe competition, we are still God's creation and can glorify him with everything we have, and everything we are.

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