I believe that everything in life,
Is what it’s meant to be,
I believe there is a God somewhere,
Although he’s hard to see,
I believe I am,
and therefore I should do all that I can,
To be a better piece in the Puzzle of God’s plan”
These are the words of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers on one of the Christmas Albums that frequented my childhood home. Earlier this week we lost a gem of a woman, who put her money where her heart was. Sang praises to God, and lived everyday to honour Him. Dolly Parton would see people in need and look for ways to help them. And through that I am reminded of Christ.
I could tell you a hundred stories of this woman and her incredible faith, but let me focus on one. When Dolly was a little girl there was a woman in her town. This woman was known as the town trollop, a low class, or loose woman, a home wrecker in some terms. This woman was large chested, had colourful outfits, big poofy hair and wore tonnes of make up. When people saw her they would shame her, gossip and whisper about this woman. But the young Dolly Parton, only saw beauty, she saw this woman, not for her sins but for her humanity. Dolly would take on that image and as she rose in fame, adopted that as her own style. Taking what people saw as the shame of Appalachia and making it the symbol of kindness, love and safety.
This in many ways is a microcosm of Christ’s actions to us. He saw humanity struggling, weak and sinful and put on humanity. Born into the lowest of the low, a poor craftsman from Nazareth, hung from a cross. But Jesus wore that in order to make a way for all of us to find kindness, love and safety in Him. Dolly Parton understood that God loves us not because we’re perfect, not because we’ll do the right thing all the time, but just because we are who we are, and if accept Him into our hearts together we can change the world with His Love.